Mexican Rice...Finally!

I made a pot of Mexican rice last week. I attempted to make a pot of Mexican rice last week. Let’s just say it turned out very al dente.

This was supposed to be my test batch of rice, my trial run before I served the dish to my boyfriend’s family. I thought that worst case, I would determine that the recipe required more salt, or a little less stock. I never even considered that I might make a terrific mess out of the simple recipe.

But I did, and it was horrible. Definitely not something I would feed to anyone, especially people whom I was trying to impress.

So it was back to the drawing board with less than a week to come up with a simple Mexican rice recipe for the Mexican themed holiday party Diesel’s family was throwing.

I literally lost sleep over the past week as I stressed out about a simple dish of Mexican rice. Trying to be the ever helpful and perfect boyfriend, Diesel brought me home two packets of instant Mexican rice – just add water.

I was less then amused. I was on a mission to make a decent batch of Mexican rice from scratch, and something that came out of a processed package was not what I had in mind.

Thankfully, not only did I find a recipe, but it turned out perfectly. And it was so easy! Not even I could screw it up. The rice was so fluffy and delicious, I definitely think that this will turn into my go to side dish whenever I decide to crank out my favorite tacos or enchiladas.

Mexican Rice
Serves 4-6

1 cup of medium or long grain rice, uncooked
2 cups of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
1/4 cup of tomato paste
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1/2 cup of cilantro, finely chopped
1 tablespoon of cumin
Salt to taste

Add rice, chicken stock and butter into a pot. Bring to a boil on high, stir once and cover.

Simmer on low for 20 minutes, then remove from heat and keep covered for 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook onions in oil for 10 minutes or until just about to brown. Add garlic to pan and cook for one minute. Stir in tomato paste and cumin and cook for one minute.

Mix in cooked rice, lime juice and cilantro, and season to taste.

Note: I doubled this recipe and didn't have any problem. In fact, I wished I had made an even larger batch as I didn't end up having any leftovers!