Rosa’s Mexican Rice

Name: Rosa’s Mexican Rice
Yield: serves 8 to 10
Ingredients: 1/2 cup vegetable oil; 1 medium yellow onion, cut in medium dice; 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves); 4 cups long-grain rice; 3 medium carrots, diced; 1 (14-ounce) can plain tomato sauce; 7 cups chicken stock; 2 cups frozen green peas; 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; Kosher salt

December 14, 2011

Beans and rice create an unassuming but essential backdrop for the quintessential Tex-Mex meal—leave them out and you’ll probably hear about it. Rosa Albiter Espinoza, who has worked for more than seven years in the Rather Sweet kitchen, makes her Mexican rice regularly for our lunch specials. She prefers Adolphus rice, a long-grain variety native to Texas. When I’m preparing a Tex-Mex spread for a party, I make sure to serve a pot of rice and plenty of refried black beans.

Recipe information

Yield
serves 8 to 10

Ingredients

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 medium yellow onion, cut in medium dice

2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves)

4 cups long-grain rice

3 medium carrots, diced

1 (14-ounce) can plain tomato sauce

7 cups chicken stock

2 cups frozen green peas

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Kosher salt

Preparation

Step 1
In a large stockpot set over medium heat, heat the oil and sauté the onion and garlic for about 2 minutes; add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until it is light brown, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, tomato sauce, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, decrease the heat to medium-low, and add the frozen peas. Cover and cook until the liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat and let sit for another 10 minutes. Fluff and serve.
do it early
Step 2
The rice can be made up to 1 day in advance, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. To reheat, stir in 1/2 cup water and cook in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the rice is thoroughly heated.

Pastry Queen Parties by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Copyright © 2009 Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman. Published by Ten Speed Press. All Rights Reserved. A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café’s sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café. Rebecca is the author of THE PASTRY QUEEN, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn’t in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances. Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper’s restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.

TagsTex-Mex American Rice Rice & Grains Canned Tomato Tomato Vegetable Pea Bean and Legume Carrot Root Vegetable Side Dinner Dairy Free Gluten Free Nut Free Easy Weeknight Meals Cookbooks

Recipe information

Ingredients

Preparation

Step 1

do it early

Step 2

Recipe notes