Make Ahead Mexican Rice Recipes

EASY BAKED MEXICAN RICE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add dry rice to a mesh sieve and rinse under cold water until water runs clear.
• To a blender or food processor, add tomatoes, onion and approximately 2 Tbsp of the minced cilantro. Process until smooth. This should yield around 2 cups, but if there's excess, discard any amount more than 2 cups.
• Add vegetable oil to a large, oven safe pan (I love to use my Le Creuset buffet casserole dish), and heat over MED heat. Add rice and saute for about 5-10 minutes, until fragrant and lightly golden.
• Add garlic and jalapeño and stir about 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Add tomato puree, tomato paste, chicken broth and 1 tsp salt. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
• Cover and bake about 25-30 minutes, until liquid is absorbed, stirring halfway through. Fluff rice with a fork, squeeze lime juice over rice and stir in cilantro and green onions.
• Taste and adjust by adding more salt or black pepper, if needed.

MEXICAN RICE AND BEANS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, poblano pepper, and garlic; saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rice is completely coated in oil, about 2 minutes. Season with paprika, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
• Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Add vegetable broth and pinto beans. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer until rice is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, keep covered, and let stand for at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

MEXICAN RICE

Steps:

• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350.
• Process tomato and onion in processor or blender until pureed and thoroughly smooth. Transfer mixture to measuring cup and reserve exactly 2 cups. Discard excess.
• Remove ribs and seeds from 2 jalapenos and discard. Mince flesh and set aside. Mince remaining jalapeno. Set aside.
• Place rice in a fine mesh strainer and rinse under cold running water until water runs clear- about 1 1/2 minutes.Shake rice vigorously to remove excess water.This step removes the starch from the rice so it will not stick. IF YOU OMIT THIS STEP YOUR RICE WILL NOT BE DRY AND FLUFFY.
• Heat oil in heavy bottomed ovensafe 12 inch straight sided sautee pan or Dutch oven with tight fitting lid over low-medium heat about 2 minutes. (The recipe is very specific about this but I used a 10 inch dutch oven and it worked out fine.) Drop a few rice grains in and if they sizzle then it is ready. Add rice and fry stirring until rice is light golden and translucent, about 6-8 minutes. Be careful that the oil doesn't get too hot too fast or the oil will splatter.
• Reduce heat to medium, add garlic and 2 minced jalapenos and cook , stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes.
• Stir in broth, pureed mixture,tomato paste, and salt. Increase heat to medium high, and bring to a boil.
• Cover pan and transfer pan to oven to bake until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, 30-35 minutes.Stir well after 15 minutes.
• Stir in cilantro, minced jalapeno to taste, and pass lime wedges separately.
• Edited to add 6-15-05: If you can't get good fresh tomatoes you are better off using canned tomatoes. Don't use those awful hard and underipe tomatoes that are at most supermarket chains. Just be sure that the processed tomatoes and the one onion equals 2 cups. One the other hand- if you find that after processing your tomatoes and onions that you have less than 2 cups- simply add enough bottled salsa to make up the difference.
• Edited 8-21-06: Do not skip any of the steps. It may seem stupid- but rinsing the rice to remove the starch is very important if you want fluffy rice. It will only take two minutes of your time but it makes the difference.
• Edited 8-15-08: Leftovers are just as delicious the next day so this is a perfect dish to make ahead time for potlucks. This rice also freezes well. For Freezing Ahead: Cool, portion and freeze in a ziploc bag. To reheat from frozen: Place in a pyrex dish and warm in the microwave, stirring every 2-3 minutes until heated through.
• You'll love this rice! Money back guarantee.