Baked Spanish Rice

Ah, Spanish Rice! Not only a great side dish but also the perfect filling to round out a bomb burrito. Sure, you could just grab a packet of spices from the grocery store and mix them in, but why take that flavor-sacrificing shortcut when this recipe is so simple? Baking the rice makes this an almost set and forget recipe that you can toss in the oven right as you're getting ready to start the rest of dinner.

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Ingredients

• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, quartered

• 1 jalapeño, serrano, or spicy pepper of your choosing

• 1 Tbsp tomato paste

• 2.5 cups vegetable broth

• 2 cups long-grain brown rice

• 1.5 Tbsp neutral-tasting oil (olive or grapeseed work best)

• 0.5 tsp salt

• 1 Tbsp lime juice (about half a lime)

• 0.25 cups chopped fresh cilantro

• 1 cup corn kernels (fresh, canned, or thawed - optional)

• 1 cup peas (fresh, canned, or thawed - optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 375°F (about 190°F) and grab a glass or ceramic baking dish - a 9x13 inch version will work best here, but you can also be successful with a smaller one. Personally, I've had no luck with metal pans. Glass and ceramic work much better.

2. Toss the tomatoes, garlic, pepper, and tomato paste in a blender or food processor and let it run until you get a smooth sauce, usually 30 seconds to a minute. Pour the mix into a pot along with the broth, and bring it to a very gentle boil over medium heat.

3. While the broth-sauce warms up, spread your rice on the bottom of the baking dish and drizzle the olive oil over it.

4. When the broth-sauce begins to bubble, pour it over the rice and stir everything together with a spoon to make sure it's evenly distributed.

5. Cover it all tightly with foil - if your dish handles with holes, make sure the foil covers that up. The goal here is to keep in the steam, and those handly little grippy bits will let it out. Make sure everything is covered nice and tight. Toss the dish in the oven for an hour. Resist the temptation to check on things as they go - again, you wanna keep the steam in the dish, and opening the oven over and over again is going to set it all free.

6. After an hour, pull the dish out. Carefully remove the foil and fluff with a fork. If the rice doesn't seem quite done, add in a quarter cup of water, re-cover it, and let it bake for another 10 minutes or so.

7. Once the rice is done, fold in the lime juice and cilantro, and corn and peas if you're using them (I tend to omit them if I'm making this for burritos, and include them if it's going to be a side dish. You get a much higher yield if you mix them in, though, so if you're feeding a lot of hungry people or really want leftovers, I recommend using the veggies).

8. This dish is best served right away if you're using it as a side or a base. It can sit around for a bit if you're stuffing it into burritos, though.

Reheating Tip: If you decide to store the rice in the dish you cook it in (I'm lazy enough that i do this way more often than I care to admit), you can easily reheat the dish by adding a few tablespoons of water to it, re-covering it with the foil, and popping it in the oven at 375°F for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on how much you have leftover. If microwaving, just add a couple of teaspoons of water and cover the dish you're reheating. This will keep it fluffy and prevent it from getting gummy!