Mexican Green Rice

Just looking at these pictures is making me crave this dish. Yes, it may not be the prettiest thing I've made, and yes, it's doesn't look like anything special. But this rice was delicious, and downright addictive.

I've never really had a reason to call rice delicious, because, well, rice is rice. It's just something on the side, it adds to the dish but it doesn't stand on its own as a dish. But this green rice is different. It doesn't blend in the background and let the main dish shine. It is the main dish, and it doesn't need a stew/chicken/meat/fish/vegetables/anything, although you won't be disappointed if you do choose to add something on the side. The rice is.. just so good.

Just make it. It's so damn easy, full of flavour, greens and a touch of spice. You won't regret it. Trust me.

Mexican Green Rice

Adapted from Simply Recipes

(Serves 8)

5 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil

3 cups (600 grams) long grain white rice

6 cups (1.4 litres) chicken or vegetable stock

1 bunch parsley, washed and roughly chopped

1 bunch coriander, washed and roughly chopped

3 large chilies, seeded

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 garlic cloves, peeled

Place the parsley, coriander, chilies, onion, garlic, and 2 cups stock in a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Heat the oil in a thick-bottomed pot on high heat. Add the rice and stir to all the grains with oil. Spread out in an even layer, and let the rice lightly brown. When it starts to brown, stir it and spread it out in an even layer again so that more of the rice browns. (I made way more rice, and I could not get it in an even layer to brown. Also, for some reason my rice kept sticking to the pan, so after around 10 minutes of attempting to brown my rice, I gave up and skipped this step. And it was still many people's favourite dish.)

When much of the rice has lightly browned, scrape out the parsley puree from the food processor into the rice. Stir to evenly mix the puree with rice, and let it cook for a minute or two. Then add the rest of the chicken stock to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the pot. Let it cook on a very low simmer for around 20 minutes, or as long as your package of rice indicates is the right cooking time for your rice.

After the cooking time indicated on your rice package, remove the pot from heat. Uncover the pot and place a clean terry towel or dish towel over the pot, then recover. The towel will help absorb excess liquid as the rice continues to cook in its own steam. (If you don't have a clean towel, you can skip this step, just cover normally.) Let sit for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.