Mexican Red Rice...

My Mexican Red Rice

I love rice. It is an ingredient I always have in the larder. It's quick, healthy and very versatile. Growing up, my mam would have used rice as a side dish at least 3 or 4 times a week. The first rice plants arrived with the Spaniards in the 1520's and the seeds quickly took to the warm, moist climate of  the States of Veracruz and Colima, both situated along the Golf of Mexico. Nowadays, rice is served on every table in Mexico, it has become part of our traditions and cuisine, so naturally, I use it a lot. The other half loves me when I make a big pot of Mexican rice and there's loads of leftovers for him to eat thoughout the day in small portions he calls 'snacks', (don't ask, I often think I should have titled this blog: I married a tall, slim, hollowed leg Irish man!). 

Rice as side dish to roasted chicken

In Mexico we use short-grain rice, but I've used the long-grain rice commonly available in Ireland as well as the bastami rice variety with great results so feel free to use either. There are tons and tons of recipes online and in books, but I use my mam's with a little bit of tweaking as it is by far my favourite; it is a combination of Red Rice and Garden Rice. Beware this is a lot of rice, a big pot, so if you're not rice crazy like my other half is, just half the recipe will do to serve about 3 to 4 people. Enjoy!

Note: Use 2 cups of water per every cup of rice!!

Lily's Mexican Red Rice

Ingredients:

6 cups of boiling water from the kettle
2 big tomatoes (Irish vine or plum)

3 chicken stock cubes

2 garlic cloves peeled

1 tsp of freshly grounded black pepper
1 tbsp of sea salt

1 tbs of olive oil

1 medium onion sliced
1/2 red bell pepper deseeded and finely diced

1/2 fresh green chili sliced or if you prefer chopped finely (keep the other half in the fridge as chili keeps well)
3 cups of long grain rice

1 big carrot peeled and finely diced

1 small tin of sweet corn (I use Nibbles from Green Giant as it also has bits of pepper but it is up to you)

1/2 cup of frozen garden peas

Onto the Cooking:

The rice ready to eat!

Fill the Kettle and boil the water. In the blender, put the tomatoes, stock cubes, garlic, pepper, salt and add about 3 cups of the boiling water. Liquidise this well in the blender and set aside. Next, heat the oil at medium to high heat in a shallow non-stick pan (preferably one that has a lid). When the oil is hot, add the onion, red pepper and chili and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the rice and stir fry it well for about 3 minutes or until the rice becomes translucent. Make sure to stir the rice frequently to avoid burning. Pour the mixture from the blender into the rice and mix well. Immediately adding the rest of the hot water, the carrots, sweet corn and peas and bring the heat to low, stir this gently one last time and cover the pan letting it simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until all water has been absorbed.