Tex-Mex Green Rice
Arroz verde is the green counterpart to Tex-Mex red rice: instead of a tomato base, the rice cooks in a puree of roasted green chiles and herbs, coming out fragrant and vivid. Roasted poblanos give it a mellow, smoky sweetness, and blended spinach and cilantro carry the color all the way through. Long-grain brown rice keeps the grain intact where the usual white rice does not, and it stands up to the longer cook the green puree needs. There is no oil: the rice is toasted dry with onion and cumin to keep the grains loose. It reheats well, so it is worth making the full pot to carry through a week of bowls and plates.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups long grain brown rice, rinsed
- 2 wholes Poblano
- 2 cups Spinach, packed
- 1 cup Cilantro, packed, stems included
- 4 wholes Scallions, chopped
- 3 cloves Garlic
- 1/2 whole Yellow onions, diced
- 1 tsp Cumin seed, toasted and ground
- 1 tbsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 2 tbsp Lime juice
Method
- Char the poblanos directly over a flame or under the broiler, turning, until the skins blacken all over, about 8 minutes. Steam them in a covered bowl for 10 minutes, then rub off the skins and pull out the seeds. Roasting deepens the poblano from grassy to sweet and smoky, and it is that flavor, not salt, that defines the dish.
- Blend the peeled poblanos with the spinach, cilantro, scallions, garlic, bouillon, and 2.75 cups (650 ml) water until smooth and vivid green. Spinach is here for color and body more than flavor, standing in for the extra herbs and keeping the puree a deep green through the cook.
- Toast the rinsed rice with the diced onion and ground cumin in a dry pot over medium heat, stirring, until the grains smell nutty and the onion softens, about 4 minutes. Toasting the rice dry before the liquid goes in keeps the grains separate, the step that would normally be done in oil.
- Pour in the green puree, bring to a boil, then cover and cook over the lowest heat until the rice is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 35 minutes for brown rice. Do not lift the lid in the first half hour; the trapped steam is what cooks it evenly.
- Turn off the heat and let it stand, still covered, for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork and stir in the lime juice. Resting finishes the grains in their own steam, and the lime lifts the whole pot in place of salt.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 210 calories, 5 g protein, 4 g fiber, 40 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.
