Time for Mexican...

My dinner from tonight, and I am shocked that my food finally tastes like real Mexican food! I will post recipes for my best rice ever, guacamole, homemade salsa, you will never buy one in a store after trying this and simple, super quick quesadillas (you can make them on your grill as well) sometime this weekend.


To be continued...

Mexican Style Tomato Rice

Recently I have been obsessed with rice and craving too much of it. Back home potatoes were a staple and it seems each dish was made with some form of this vegetable. Mashed, boiled, baked, fried...a lot and never missing from the menu. Rice was only known to me in soups, especially tomato soup and as a dessert served with milk, sugar and cinnamon. Not too much variety. About a year ago I discovered that pure basmati rice is a totally different world than just any regular rice. It is soft but it is hard to overcook it (if you are careful) and it really has this specific delicious flavour about it that makes you want it more and more. (Not as much as chocolate or anything with alcohol ;) but still....)

I still remember the only way I could cook rice and you know what, I will never do it again! In Poland you can get a box of rice with individually wrapped portions or rice in little bags that you put in a pot of boiling water. When I remember the taste of it I understand why we never ate it. Because it tasted like an overcooked pile of blandness. It was my fault of course, becasue I cooked it for too long.

My rice these days is so good that I cannot believe myself and everywhere I eat it I cannot help myself but to compare it to my rice. Really, my rice is sooo much better than this! As you can see I am really proud of my rice.

First of all you have to make sure to give your rice plenty of space to cook. I usually use a deep pan (not Teflon) I fry half an onion (chopped into small pieces) in a little bit of olive oil and then add 1 cup of rice. Stir for a minute on a high heat. Take two raw tomatoes and blend them until they hit a juicy consistence. Add to your rice. Remember for one cup of rice add 2 cups of water. Now, we are using tomatoes here, so if the tomato juice makes for about half a cup of liquid you need to add 1 and a half cups of water. Stir and wait until everything comes to a boil. Add salt and a little bit of broth (1 cube) Lower heat to medium and keep cooking covered checking if your rice needs more water. Cook until water has been absorbed but rice does not stick to the bottom and when you bite into it is soft on the outside but still a little bit hard on the inside. Turn off the heat and let it sit covered for several minutes until it cooks completely through. This will result in light and fluffy rice that I love as a side or on its own with some fresh salsa.

You can also stir in some vegetables when the rice is cooked, peas, carrots or corn. And a splash of olive oil to moisten it a bit. If you are using frozen vegetables make sure to thaw them earlier, you must not add any extra water!

ENJOOY!

Next time about my SALSA. I am not Mexican but my salsa is :)