FoodPoint

5.04 Arroz Rojo (Spanish Rice) - Rice & Pasta - Low-Fuss

The name of this dish literally translates to "red rice". It's also more commonly known as Spanish Rice or sometimes Mexican Rice.

You can eat it on its own, or top it with something tasty (such as chile con carne), or as a filling in burritos.

There's dozens of variants of this dish, and this is just my take.

Ingredients:
2 cups of medium-grain rice
500ml vegetable stock
300ml tomato juice
1 capsicum, diced
1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp chilli powder
Salt
Olive oil (for frying)

I have specified medium-grain rice in an attempt to make this slightly traditional. If you can only get long-grain rice then you may need to add an additional 1 cup of water or stock as it will absorb more liquid.

If you'd prefer to use chicken stock instead of vegetable, then it shouldn't be an issue. I wouldn't recommend beef stock, however.

Recipes for this dish would usually include chopped tinned tomatoes, however I opted for juice instead as the flavour permeates more.

While I'm usually fairly disdainful of green capsicum, I really like the contrast with the red of the rice. Just use whichever colour you prefer.

Method:

1. In a saucepan, heat some oil over a medium-high heat.

2. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and fry until it begins to soften, then add in the garlic and fry for a further 30-60 seconds until it starts to brown.

3. Add the capsicum and fry until it just begins to soften, then add in the spices and fry for 30-60 seconds. (This is really just to toast the spices slightly and mellow the flavours.)

4. Pour in the tomato juice and stock and bring to a simmer.

5. Turn the heat down to low and add in the rice, stirring to ensure it doesn't clump at the bottom of the pan.

6. Cover the pan and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed.

7. Give it a stir and serve hot!

A video of this recipe is available at https://youtu.be/uGkpQvG2fIw.