Red Rice

Rice is a good staple to have on hand, But truth be told, I find that it can be a little - bland to eat on its own. So I am always looking for recipes that use rice but take it up a notch and make it much more exciting. Hence this Mexican recipe I found a while ago for Red Rice. Onion and garlic are a few of the ingredients added to take plain old boring rice to the next level

Ingredients

Two tablespoons of Oil

One small onion

One clove of Garlic.

One tablespoon of Tomato Paste

One cup of Long Grain rice

One and three quarters of a cup of water or broth

One half teaspoon Oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Chop your onion into smaller pieces. Mince the onion quite finely.

In a medium pan, heat your oil over medium heat.

Mince your garlic finely and add to the onions.

Add the onion and allow it to cook in the oil for three to four minutes.

Add the garlic, cooking until the onion begins to brown around the edges. Altogether, it should take about five to six minutes depending on how long you prefer to cook your garlic.

Mix in the Tomato Paste, the rice, whatever liquid you choose to use and the Oregano. Season to taste with the salt and pepper.

Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low. Cover and allow to cook until the liquid has been absorbed into the rice - about thirty minutes * see notes

Remove from the heat and allow to sit, covered, for five minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Notes:

I would go with a light tasting oil for this such as canola oil or olive oil.

You can chop your onion up coarsely for this recipe but I find the finer you mince the onion, the more it blends in with the texture of the rice and you are not eating a huge hunk of onion with a little rice. I prefer it to blend well but that is my preference. Also, the smaller your onion is minced the quicker it cooks.

I like to cook the onions a bit before adding the garlic as garlic can burn easier than the onions and takes on a bitter taste if overcooked. The onion also takes a little longer to cook so adding them to the heat separately allows the onions a little more cook time.

You can get small cans of tomato paste in plain or seasoned with garlic and herbs. I have tried this recipe with both and it turns out well both ways. If you use seasoned, you might want to cut back on the garlic in the recipe as some people might find it too garlicky. I personally love garlic and tend to double the amount added to any given recipe.

I am not sure what kind of rice is usually used in Mexico but I always have Jasmine rice on hand so I used that for this recipe and it turned out fine.

I find this recipe turns out better if you use chicken or vegetable broth as it adds more flavor to the rice. But if you have dietary concerns such as sodium, you can use water. I would however make sure to add a little more onion or garlic in that case to add more flavour to the end product.

Cooking the rice mixture took me about thirty minutes but my burners lean on the low side. I really need a new stove top. It might be faster for you.