Arroz de Grelos, Portuguese Greens and Rice
Arroz de grelos is everyday Portuguese cooking, a soupy rice built on the country's holy trinity of onion, garlic, and tomato, then loaded with grelos, the peppery flowering tops of turnip greens that Portugal eats by the armful. It belongs to the family of loose, wet rice dishes the Portuguese call malandrinho, cooked with more liquid than a pilaf so the grains stay creamy and spoonable rather than fluffy and separate. Short-grain brown rice gives up the starch that makes that texture while keeping its bran, and mustard greens carry the same clean bitterness as grelos when true turnip tops are hard to find. The technique is all in the refogado at the start and in not letting the pot cook dry, so keep a little water at hand. It is cheap, forgiving, and made in a single pot on a weeknight.
Ingredients
- 1 cup short grain brown rice
- 1 bunch Mustard greens, stems sliced, leaves chopped
- 1 whole Yellow onions, diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup Canned crushed tomatoes
- 1/4 cup Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, ground
Method
- Sweat the onion in a wide pot with 1/4 cup water (60 ml), covered, over medium-low heat until soft and translucent, about 8 minutes. This soft, sweet base is the refogado that starts nearly every Portuguese pot, and building it in water instead of oil loses none of the sweetness.
- Stir in the garlic and the crushed tomato and cook 3 minutes until the tomato darkens and thickens. A little tomato gives the rice its color and a background acidity; grelos are pungent and the tomato rounds them off.
- Add the rice and stir it for a minute to coat, then pour in 3 cups water (720 ml) and bring to a simmer. Short-grain brown rice releases enough starch as it cooks to make the dish malandrinho, the loose and slightly creamy texture Portuguese rice dishes prize, while keeping its bran.
- Once it is simmering, stir in the sliced green stems, cover, and cook 25 minutes. Then add the chopped leaves and cook 10 minutes more, until the rice is tender and the whole thing is loose and creamy, not dry. Grelos, the flowering tops of the turnip, are the classic green; the sharp mustard greens here stand in for that pleasant bitterness. Add a splash more water if it tightens too far.
- Grind in the black pepper and fold through the parsley. Serve it loose and spoonable, with lemon at the table to lift it in place of salt. It is a side to beans or grilled vegetables, or a light meal on its own.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 220 calories, 5 g protein, 5 g fiber, 30 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
