Baked Mexican Rice with Cilantro and Roasted Onion Olive Oil

This Mexican rice is rich, comforting, and full of bold, fresh flavor. Made with ripe tomatoes, aromatic garlic, jalapeños, and finished with lime and cilantro, it’s the perfect side—or satisfying main—any night of the week.

What you will need:

2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

1 medium-sized white or yellow onion

3 medium-sized jalapeno chiles

½ cup Patricia & Paul Cilantro and Roasted Onion Olive Oil

2 cups long-grain white rice, rinsed

4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 tablespoon tomato paste

½ cup frozen yellow corn

½ cup black beans

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 lime, cut into wedges

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack in the middle position.

Rinse rice thoroughly until the water runs clear. Drain well & dry. Transfer rice to a kitchen towel or layers of paper towels and blot well.

Core the tomatoes and chop roughly into quarters. Peel and trim the onion and roughly chop into quarters as well.

Add the onions and tomatoes to a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Puree until smooth, about 15 seconds. You may need to occasionally scrape down the inside of the bowl while pureeing. Pour mixture into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. You should have 2 cups but if you have too much spoon off and discard any extra.

Take two of the jalapenos and remove their seeds and ribs. Mince well. For the third jalapeno, mince it with the seeds and ribs and set aside separately.

In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the ½ cup of olive oil. When you think the oil is hot, drop 3-4 grains of rice into the oil. If the grains sizzle, you’re ready to go. Add the rest of the well drained rice very carefully to avoid splattering.

Sauté, stirring frequently, until the rice is a light golden brown and starts to become translucent, about 6-8 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium and add the minced garlic and the seeded and ribbed minced jalapenos. Stir constantly for about 1 minute. Add the 2 cups of tomato-onion puree mixture, the 2 cups of chicken or vegetable broth, the 1 tablespoon of tomato paste, ½ cup of frozen corn, ½ cup of black beans and the 1½ teaspoons of salt.

Stir everything well. Cover the pot and raise the heat to high, bringing the mixture to a simmer.

Once simmering, turn off heat and transfer the pot to the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes until the rice is tender and no liquid remains. Stir once or twice throughout the baking time.

When done, remove the pot from the oven and uncover. Use a fork to fluff the rice to avoid clumping.  Stir in the chopped cilantro. Add the remaining, reserved minced jalapeno according to your heat preference. Go slow, you can always add more. Cover the pot again and let the rice sit for about 10 minutes.

Serve Mexican rice with wedges of lime. Enjoy!