Tex-Mex Rice

Ingredients

• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 poblano chile, seeded and chopped fine
• 2 jalapeño chiles, seeded and chopped fine (we left the seeds in)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt (we used table salt)
• Additional salt (we used kosher salt)

Directions

1. Put the tomatoes in a food processor and puree until smooth, setting it aside afterwards. Put the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and set it over a large bowl. Run water over the rice (we used cold water) until the water runs clear, about 1 minute*. Drain the rice well afterwards.
2. Take a Dutch oven out (we used a large skillet) and pour the oil i, setting the heat to medium-high. Once the oil’s hot and is starting to shimmer, add in the onion, poblano and jalapeños, stirring frequently for 5 minutes or until softened. Take ¼ cup of the mixture out of the skillet and leave it off to the side for now. Stir the rice, cumin and oregano into the pot and cook for 5 to 6 minutes or until the rice has a deep golden look to it, continuing to stir frequently.
3. Add in the broth, pureed tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of salt, stirring to combine. Wait for the rice mixture to come to a boil. Once boiling, put the lid on and turn the heat down to low afterwards. Simmer for 25 minutes or until the liquid’s been absorbed and the rice is tender. Take the Dutch oven off the heat and stir in that ¼ cup mixture from earlier. Put the lid back on and leave the rice be for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and season with additional salt if you think it needs it. Serve immediately.

*The water coming through the strainer looked clear right off the bat so we judged if the water was clear based off the accumulated water in the bowl. It took us roughly 10 minutes or so for the water to look clear.

This is a new favorite rice recipe for us ! You get a little heat at the end of the bite but it doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors. Mommy really loves this dish !

Recipe source unknown.

Take care everybody !