The BEST rice with Mexican food? This Mexican Green Rice! A cilantro rice pilaf simmered in chicken broth with poblano chilies, parsley, cilantro, onions and garlic.
I can’t stop eating this rice! Have you ever eaten green rice? It’s basically a simple rice pilaf where you first brown the rice by frying it with some oil. Then mix in a puree of chilies and herbs, add broth, cover and cook.
This green rice recipe easily feeds six, but somehow I ate through each batch on my own. I just sneak into the fridge, pull out a small bowlful, zap it, and eat my green rice morning, afternoon, late at night, whenever possible.
I’ve also seen versions with spinach and green Anaheim chiles or jalapeños. It’s a perfect accompaniment to Mexican dishes or steak and beans.
I love the idea of incorporating veggies and herbs into a rice pilaf in this way and am wondering about similar recipes from other cuisines. If you have any suggestions, please let us know in the comments!
Arroz Verde (Mexican Green Rice)
Use the amount of broth that meets the liquid needs of your particular brand of rice. Long grain rice typically ranges from 1 1/2 cups of liquid per cup of rice to 2 cups of liquid per cup of rice.
If you’re using homemade unsalted broth, you should add at least 1/2 teaspoon of salt to the broth.
ingredients
-
3 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
-
1 1/2 cups long grain white rice
-
2 1/4 cups chicken broth (or more, depending on the rice, see recipe note)
-
1 Cup coarsely chopped parsleylightly packed
-
1/2 Cup coarsely chopped corianderlightly packed
-
2 big Poblano chili peppercored and roughly chopped
-
2 tablespoon chopped Onion
-
1 clove garlicpeeled, roughly chopped
-
Salt to taste (see recipe note)
special equipment
-
food processor
method
-
Mash parsley, cilantro, chili, onion, garlic, 1/2 cup broth:
Place parsley, cilantro, poblanos, onion, garlic and 1/2 cup chicken broth in a food processor. pulse until smooth.
-
Fry the rice:
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat. Add the rice and stir to coat all of the grains with oil. Spread in an even layer.
Lightly brown the rice. When it starts to brown, stir and spread again into an even layer to brown more of the rice.
-
Stir parsley-cilantro mixture into rice:
When most of the rice is lightly browned, scrape the parsley puree from the food processor into the rice. Stir to mix the puree evenly with the rice. Let cook for a minute or two.
-
Add the rest of the broth, simmer, cover, cook:
Pour the rest of the chicken broth into the saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cover the pot. Let simmer on very low for 15 minutes, or for as long as your rice packet indicates the correct cooking time for your rice.
-
Remove from heat, cover with towel and lid, let rest:
After the cooking time indicated on your rice packet, remove the pot from the heat. Cover the pot and place a clean terry cloth or tea towel over the pot and then cover again.
The towel will help absorb excess liquid while 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.
Recipe inspired by the recipe for Arroz Verde in Diana Kennedy’s The Essential Cuisines of Mexico.
Links:
Green Rice with Smoked Paprika by Heidi from 101 Cookbooks
Mexican Green Rice Salad by Angie of Eclectic Recipes
Mexican Green Cilantro Rice from Girl Cooks World
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 154 | calories |
| 8g | Fat |
| 17g | carbohydrates |
| 4g | protein |
