I feel like any time that we have anything remotely Mexican themed for dinner, that it has to be paired with Mexican rice. I’m not a fan of anything that comes ready made out of a packet, so I try keep it to a minimum, that’s how I ended up knocking up this recipe. I love rice in any shape or form but when it’s packed full of flavour like this bad boy recipe, well, it’s a definite winner for me!
Mexican Rice
Ingredients
- Oil for cooking
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 cup frozen sweetcorn
- 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp. dried basil
- red chilli flakes (to taste)
- 4 cups vegetable stock or plain boiling water
- 5 sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped finely
Instructions
- Wash the rice in 3 changes of water and leave soaking in warm water for up to an hour before cooking.
- Warm 50 – 100mls of oil (I like olive oil) and gently brown the onions for 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for a further minute over a medium heat.
- Stir in the tin tomatoes, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, oregano, basil and chilli flakes. Saute for 2 minutes over a medium heat until the spices release their flavour.
- Stir in the frozen sweetcorn and red pepper and cook for 2 minutes until fully combined in the sauce.
- Drain the rice and gently stir into the sauce, taking care not to break the grains.
- Increase to a high heat and pour in the vegetable stock (or boiling water if you don’t have any stock), stir gently and bring to the boil.
- Leave to cook on a high heat until the grains of rice begin to peep through the water at the top. Gently stir one more time, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until all the water has been absorbed by the rice.
- Remove lid, sprinkle on fresh parsley, and fork through the rice before serving with your fave chilli con carne or in your burritos. Yum!
Notes
Each brand of rice cooks differently. Generally if you use 1 cup of rice then you'll need 2 cups of water. Some brands of rice cook with less (or more) water though, so it's a case of trial and error really. Always opt for a good Pakistani Basmati brand of rice. I find they are longest grains and are more fragrant than the Indian varieties.
