Switzerland is giving us a whole day off to celebrate Cinco de Mayo! Isn’t that nice??
Turns out its actually Ascension Day, and everyone gets a random Thursday off because of it. So, we are going to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, like Americans do…with a lot of Mexican food and margaritas.
I’m asked to make tacos on a daily basis, so I’m excited for a week off of preparing all the taco elements. I only have to make one dish for the fiesta, and I’m bringing the Spanish rice. In all honesty, I usually dread making this rice, but not because it’s hard to make. I only dread making it because it’s just one more thing to make on top of the essentials like salsa, guacamole, taco meat, beans, etc. Which is probably why I’ve never taken the time to blog about it, even though it’s very worthy of its own blog post.
So today is its day. Since it’s the only thing I’m making, I can tell the world how delicioso it is. I could eat this rice as is, with a spoon, and be a very happy camper. Or as a base for these carnitas. That would be pretty nice too.
The first thing to do is to cook your onions with the rice, until the rice is toasted and the onions are translucent.
While it’s toasting, add your broth and spices to a pot and bring to a boil.
Pour the toasted rice into the broth and reduce to a simmer. Cook on low for 15 minutes.
And that’s it. Spanish rice. The unassuming star of the show.
- 1 cup // 185 grams long-grain white rice
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1.75 // 400 mL chicken or vegetable broth*
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste or ½ cup diced tomatoes
- Dash of oregano
- Salt to taste
- In a medium pot, bring the chicken broth, tomatoes (paste or diced), and the oregano to a boil.
- In a separate large skillet, pour in the oil and heat on medium to high. Add the rice and chopped onions to your pan and cook until the onions become transparent and the rice is toasted, about 3-5 minutes. One minute before your onions are done, add in the garlic.
- When your rice and onion mixture is ready, pour into the chicken stock. Turn the heat down to low, cover, and let cook for 15-20 minutes, depending on your rice instructions. When ready, take off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve immediately after.
- *Use the ratio of rice to water from your rice package instructions, but substitute chicken broth in for water.
