Baked Spanish Rice Recipe

ingredients

1 cup rice (brown rice adds more flavor)
1 cup water or stock
1 can tomatoes (crushed, diced or whole, you're choice)
1 large onion (sliced, diced or chunked)
1 clove garlic (optional but tasty)
1/2 green or red bell pepper, diced or chopped (optional but visually attractive)
1 teaspoon spice (there are many choices but cumin is more traditional)
1 small hot pepper, fresh seeded, diced or sliced (jalapeno works well, but dry or canned is ok)
1 tablespoon herbs, dried (thyme, basil or even tarragon for something different)
1 pound ground meat (beef, pork, lamb or a mixture)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground if at all possible)
1/2 teaspoon salt

directions

Cook the rice, with the salt, until the liquid is absorbed, this will be a dry rice at this point. Let stand until partially cooled. While the rice is cooking, saute the ground meat with the spices, onions, peppers, garlic and hot peppers until the meat is browned. Drain excess fat from the meat, add the herbs and mix together. Let stand until partially cooled.

You have a choice of mixing rice and meat together or creating layers in a casserole dish. Once the mixture is in the casserole, try not to pack it down too much, add the canned tomatoes and let this work its way down and in for 5 - 10 minutes while you preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. At this point you can add cheese on top if you wish, a good old cheddar is great. Cover the casserole dish and bake in the oven for 30 - 45 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.

cook's notes

Do not forget that the rice is not fully cooked so that, as it absorbs the liquid from the tomato, it WILL expand. So, leave a little expansion room in your casserole dish. As a final touch, if you are using cheese and want a brown top, uncover the dish, after cooking is complete, and broil, not too close to the element, until desired color is achieved. Allow to cool for 5 - 10 minutes and serve. Makes a great center piece on the dinning room table.

nutrition data

366 calories, 20 grams fat, 29 grams carbohydrates, 16 grams protein per serving.

reviews & comments

Guest Foodie REVIEW:
May 30, 2007

I made it with tempeh and it was a great substitute for the meat.. It was great!
Mel Bell REVIEW:
September 12, 2006

This recipy is very healthy! I used Ground Turkey which made it even better for you. My sister does not like veggies and she even said she loved it. Plus my 2 year old and 1 year old gobbled it right down. I made it for my mom's 50th suprise birthday party to serve 50 people and everybody wanted the recipe. Goes great with Sweet Corn Cake!
skyntresasmom June 18, 2006

this is a great twist on spanish rice and it is hard to mess up as long as you follow the recipe it is delicious and i had everyone asking for the recipe