Spanish Rice

This is my favorite rice to serve alongside any Latin inspired dish. You start by making a sofrito, which is a Latin flavor base used in all kinds of recipes, not just rice. Latino cooks often make a large batch and freeze their sofrito in smaller portions for later use. You can increase the following recipe and do the same.

To make enough sofrito for this spanish rice, which serves four as a side dish:

Put two tablespoons of canola oil in a large saucepot. Add one-quarter Spanish onion, one-half green bell pepper, one jalapeno pepper and two cloves of garlic, all finely diced. Also add two plum tomatoes that you've seeded and diced and one handful of chopped fresh cilantro. (Leave out the cilantro if you're one of those who object to its taste. You can add a teaspoon of dried oregano instead.) Cook the diced vegetables over medium heat, stirring, until the onion is translucent and the peppers are tender. That's it for the sofrito part.

Add one cup of long grain rice to the pan, and stir it for a few minutes to coat the rice with the oil and veggies. Here's where I change things up a bit from classic Spanish rice recipes. Add one teaspoon each of cumin and sweet smoked paprika. Smoked paprika has become my new favorite spice. It adds an incredible aroma and flavor to any dish. (Be careful, though, that you don't get the hot version which, take my word for it, will bring on the burn.) Add two cups of chicken broth (or water if you don't have broth), bring to a boil and simmer for about twenty minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice. If you'd like, you can throw in about a half-cup frozen green peas about ten minutes before the rice will be done.

As I said, I like this rice with any Latin dish, such as yesterday's salsa chicken. Now all I need is an icy cold marguerita and time for a long siesta after my meal.