Mexican Rice

If you have been to a Mexican restaurant, then you are definitely familiar with Mexican rice. The thing that sets this simple rice dish apart from the rest is that it is heavily flavored with tomatoes and seasonings. If you really want to kick it up a notch, try sautéing a serrano pepper in the mix!

photo courtesy of Brandon Boren

Ingredients
Oil
2 cups rice (I prefer to use jasmine)
8oz tomato sauce
1 large tomato (chopped)
3 green onions (chopped)
3 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

photo courtesy of Brandon Boren

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Serrano (completely optional!)


Preparation
Heat oil and begin to toast the rice. Once rice is transluscent and coated well by oil, add chopped tomato. Sauté until tomato has softened. Add the tomato sauce, broth and all of the spices. Bring to boil. Cover and lower heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Add green onions and fold into the rice being careful not to mash the grains up. Let sit for 5 minutes with the top off to let the excess moisture evaporate and it is ready to serve!

Red Chile Sauce

Red chile sauce can be used as a base to everything from enchilada sauce to chile con carne. Although this recipe makes quite a bit of chile sauce, it freezes really well. This is a recipe that has been in our family for as long as I can remember and it is quite easy, but it can get a bit messy. My best word of advice? Don't wear your nice clothes.

Ingredients:
8oz (1/2lb) dried red chile (New Mexico, California, guajillo, etc.)
1/2 onion
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
8 large garlic cloves
4 cups reserved chile water (see below)
Salt and pepper to taste

Strained red chile sauce
photo courtesy of Brandon Boren

Preparation:
Clean the dried chiles by cutting off the stem and removing the seeds inside. Boil chiles in enough water to cover for 10 minutes or until softened. Reserve 4 cups of the water used to boil the chiles. Transfer the chiles to a blender, along with onion, garlic, spices and 2 cups of the chile water. Place the blended sauce in a colander over a bowl. Use a spoon to help pass the strained chile sauce through the colander. Once all of the sauce has passed through, place the leftover chile paste in the blender with the remaining 2 cups of chile water and re-blend. Repeat the straining process through the colander once more. Add salt and pepper to taste. The strained sauce is ready to use or can be refrigerated or frozen for later use.

Corn & Squash 'Entomatada'

This is not a dish that you are likely to see at a Mexican restaurant, but I have seen it made in many households. The dish is normally prepared by cooking chicken in a tomato-based sauce, then adding corn and pieces of Mexican squash or zucchini. My preparation simply removes the chicken and it makes this dish great for those of you on a tight budget or need something that can be cooked in under 30 minutes!

Ingredients
1 serrano chile (thinly sliced)

1/2 large onion (chopped)
6 garlic cloves (chopped)
5 roma tomatoes (chopped)
4 small Mexican grey squashes or zucchinis (cut into chunks)
2 cups (12oz) frozen corn
8 ounces of tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon oregano
salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro to garnish

Preparation

Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the serrano chile, chopped onion and garlic; cook until softened. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, water and spices; cover, bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to break down. Add squash and corn; cover and simmer for 15-20 more minutes or until squash is tender.

Serve with warm tortillas, sour cream and fresh cilantro to garnish. For all of you cheesers, this soupy dish tastes amazing smothered in cheese!

Serves 4

All photos courtesy of Brandon Boren

Black-Eyed Pea Ceviche

Ceviche is a dish that is seen in Mexico generally prepared with seafood, or in more modern interpretations, ground beef. The seafood or meat is then marinated in citrus juice until 'cooked' thoroughly. This is then mixed in with a blend of vegetables and seasonings and served on top of a tostada. The problem with many vegetarian preparations of this dish is that the ingredient used in place of the seafood or meat does not provide enough flavor and ends up tasting similar to a simple pico de gallo. The taste of the black-eyed peas does not entirely resemble the more conventional ceviche, but it certainly has it's own unique tastiness!

Black-eyed pea ceviche
photo courtesy of Brandon Boren

Ingredients
15 ounces black-eyed peas
3 large limes
2 roma tomatoes (chopped)
1/2 large onion (finely chopped)
1/2 bundle cilantro (chopped)
1 jalapeño (finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt to taste

Preparation
Mix the onion, jalapeño, cilantro and tomatoes. Drain the cooking liquid from the black-eyed peas or if using canned, make sure to drain and rinse thoroughly. Add cumin powder, garlic powder, ground coriander, lime juice, black-eyed peas and salt to taste. Mix gently to keep the black-eyed peas as intact as possible. Ceviche typically should not be consumed right away because it takes time for the flavors to come together. Give it at least an hour in the refrigerator, or even better, a whole day!

Black-eyed pea ceviche tostada
photo courtesy of Brandon Boren

Serve with salsa, your favorite veggie toppings and tostadas or corn chips. This ceviche also makes a scrumptious and healthy salad!

 Recipe makes 10 tostadas