Easy Spanish Rice

There are not enough adjectives in my vocabulary to describe the fabulousness of my mom's Spanish rice recipe.  It is BEYOND delicious.  The first time I made this for my boyfriend, I think he passed out for a little while from sheer pleasure.  The recipe is derived from the San Antonio Cookbook II, published the year I was born, 1976!  This is a classic that has been slightly updated.  Mostly the technique, with just a little tweak to the ingredients.

Bacon of course is what makes this dish.  It doesn't hurt that it only has eight total ingredients, either.  So not only is it a party for your taste buds, it's simple to boot!  Oh yeah... I forgot to mention that it's a one pot dish too!!!!

For my dear veg friends, of course you can leave the bacon out of this (and use veg stock instead of beef), but I can't vouch for its fabulosity.  You're on your own.  :o/

Spanish Rice
5 slices bacon, diced OR 3 T bacon grease
2 large carrots, diced
1/2 large onion, diced (I usually use yellow, but white is fine)
1 cup long grain rice
1 can Mexican style diced tomatoes, OR 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 small can diced chiles
2 cups beef broth/stock
1.5 t cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste

In a pot or deep sided sauté pan (one that has a lid) fry your bacon over medium heat, stirring frequently.  Try not to char the bacon.  Just cook it to a caramel brown color.  Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with a paper towel and set aside.  At this point you have a decision to make.  You can 1) discard the bacon completely (blasphemous!!), 2) put it back into the rice at the end, 3) use it for some other recipe, 4) save it for a snack or 5) some combination of 2, 3 and 4.  :o)

(If using previously harvested bacon grease, skip this step and just melt bacon fat over medium high heat.)

Increase the heat to medium high and add the carrots to the bacon fat.  Sauté the carrots for a few minutes until they soften a little.  Add the onion to the pot and sauté a few more minutes until onions start to become translucent.

Add the rice to the pot and stir to incorporate into the vegetables and coat with bacon fat.  Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently, until the rice gets a little color to it and/or starts to give off a nutty aroma.

Add the tomatoes (and chiles if using), broth, cumin and garlic to the pot.

 




Give the mixture a stir, and let the broth come to a boil.  Reduce heat to low and cover.  Cook until all the liquid is absorbed, approximately15-20 minutes.  All of the vegetables will float to the top, so make sure to stir the rice once about halfway through cooking.  Season your dish at this time with salt and pepper.  If you're going to be adding the bacon as a garnish, under salt.

Garnish with reserved bacon and serve!

Get the Shrimp Tampico Quesadilla recipe here!

Delicioso!!