The Recipe Box: (Not So) Quick Spanish Rice

(Not So) Quick Spanish Rice

From the recipe box of KimB

I've been learning about rice recipes and experimenting with them to make them more my own. One recipe I've been working on is Spanish Rice. It's not that easy to do or do well but I keep working away at making it easy for me and tasty too.

One criteria is that is has to be easy to put together. My days of standing for hours in the kitchen are fast fading in the rear view mirror. So, anything I undertake has to fit into the limited time I'm willing to put into cooking.

Second criteria is that it has to taste good. A bad recipe is just not going to get a rerun, especially during the summer heat when you can cook eggs on the sidewalk.

Third criteria is that the recipe has to be forgiving about what I have on hand and what I can use as a substitute.

This is my current incarnation which I think is pretty good.

(Not So) Quick Spanish Rice

1 cup organic jasmine rice
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 jar organic salsa (mild, medium or hot)
1 ¼ cups water

Preparation:

1. Rinse the rice in cool water until the water runs clear.
2. Place the rice in pot and drizzle with the olive oil, add the salt, cumin and coriander.
3. Turn the heat on medium and stir until the rice turns white and is well coated with the herb mix.
4. Add 4 tbs to 6 tbs of the salsa mix to the rice and stir until most of the liquid is absorbed.
5. Add the 1 ¼ cups of water, stir and bring to a boil.
6. Put the lid on and turn the burner down to lowest level.
7. Cook with the lid on for 15 min. Remove from the burner.
8. Let set with the lid on for 5 to 10 min.

Spanish Rice