Spanish Rice

By Kelly Bogard

Rice. Grown with pride by Texas farmers.

It’s an important economic driver in Southeast Texas. My favorite is a long-grain basmati rice, also known as Texmati.

It has an amazing buttery flavor perfect for this week’s south of the border treat. Just in time for next week’s Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

For Spanish Rice, you will need…
2 tbsp. butter
1 ½ cups long-grain rice
½ white onion
1 green bell pepper
1 jalapeno
1 tbsp. minced garlic
28 oz. stewed tomatoes, diced with juice
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. chili powder
1 ½ cups water
Cilantro

This rice is a perfect complement to any Tex-Mex dish, like enchiladas and fajitas. It would even be good with this chicken.

First, chop all of the vegetables and set aside. You can leave the seeds in the jalapeno if you want to turn up the heat.

In a high-sided saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and then add the rice to brown. Make sure to coat all of the rice in the butter and stir occasionally to toast evenly. This will take about five minutes.

Now that the rice is browned, add in the veggies, stirring so they get mixed in well.

Stir in the tomatoes with the juice and spices. Reduce the heat to medium and let the rice mixture simmer for five minutes covered.

Pour the water over the cooked-down rice mixture. Stir well and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes covered. Add in a handful of chopped cilantro now if you want.