Hola Mi Gente,
Over the last few years of cooking together, there have been a handful of recipes you have asked for that I have dragged my feet about sharing. The reason for this one has never been that I don’t want to share the recipe with you, it is simply that it is such a commonplace recipe in our household that the thought of measuring it and actually writing it out took me some time to get past 😂
It’s no secret that our house enjoys it’s carbs. We love potatoes. We love pasta. We love rice.
These are easy, affordable staples in most households. They make really good side dishes and potluck dishes, and are easy to multiply to feed a good crowd.
If we are friends, this rice recipe will be one of the first things you eat of mine. It pairs beautifully with my signature black bean recipe , my tostones recipe, or any of my poultry dishes like my cilantro grapefruit chicken.
One ingredients this rice calls for that might not be in your everyday staple pantry items: achiote oil (super simple recipe here). The achiote (annatto seed) oil is what gives the rice the beautifully vibrant yellowish-orange color, but it also renders a beautiful deep flavor to your rice that you DON’T want to skip. It’s literally what makes this rice the signature rice. You can typically find the seeds at grocery stores like in the Latin American/International or the spices section.
The second ingredient isn’t necessary to this specific dish in the form I use it, but it makes everything so much easier for this (and so many other dishes)! In the past, I’ve always bought tomato paste in a little 3 oz can. It tastes and works fine, but i usually don’t need most of the can, and as a result, the leftovers tend to get lost in my fridge (and sometimes slowly become their own science experiment). About a year ago, while wandering the pasta aisle, I stumbled upon tomato paste in a tube and I will NEVER look back! It lasts me for months, and is so efficient and mess-free. It seems like a small potatoes thing, but when you make colossal messes as much as I do, it really is a small gift to have one less.
Other than those two things, this is a really simple recipe, with a beautifully generous result. This rice is on our plates at least once a week, if not more! I hope it’ll join your repertoire as well.
Love, love, love,
SAVE ON PINTEREST
HOC Signature Rice
Ingredients
- 5 TBSP Achiote Oil
- 1/2 Small Onion Finely Diced
- 1 Roma Tomato Finely Diced
- 1.5 TSP Tomato Paste
- 1 TSP Onion Powder
- 1 TSP Garlic Powder
- 2 TSP Salt
- 2 C Rice
- 3 C Water
Instructions
- Add oil to a wide dutch oven or pot and heat over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the onion and cook until translucent. Add tomato, tomato paste, onion + garlic powder, salt, and mix together. Add in rice and water and stir well. Bring to a boil, and then lower heat and cook covered for 25 minutes. For Crispy rice on the bottom, raise heat for five more minutes and then remove from heat. Mix well, to get the crispy texture from the bottom of the pan well dispersed, and serve warm + enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
