Authentic Mexican Rice

I made this Mexican Rice with the Chicken Enchiladas that I posted last year.  The last time I made these enchiladas I served Spanish Quinoa instead of rice.  I decided to be more authentic this time and make a traditional rice dish.  I also served some refried beans.  You can make this rice spicy by using medium or hot salsa instead of the tomato sauce.

Authentic Mexican Rice

Prep. Time:  5 Minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons oil

¼ medium onion, chopped

1-1/2 cups rice

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup plain tomato sauce*

4 heaping tablespoons of finely chopped parsley (optional)

Preparation:

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat.  Add the fresh onion and garlic.  Sauté for 1-2 minutes until softened.  Add dry rice and cook with the onions for about 5-6 minutes or until rice becomes a golden brown color.

Add in broth and tomato sauce (add slowly into the rice, not directly into a hot pan).  Then add parsley if you’re using it.  Stir it up and bring to a boil.  Once it starts boiling, turn the heat to low and cover.  Let it simmer for 20 minutes and fluff with a fork.

*Substitutions:  If you don’t have fresh garlic or onions on hand you can use the equivalent in powder form.  Do not sauté the powder, just skip that step and add the garlic powder and/or onion powder when you add the liquids.  If you don’t have tomato sauce you can use 1 cup of unseasoned stewed tomatoes (with their liquid) that have been chopped, or canned diced tomatoes with their liquid.  Rotel and jarred salsa can also be substituted for the tomato sauce. 

From www.about.com

Sugo Bugiardo or "Fake" Sauce

This recipe comes from a restaurant in Italy called Fattoria il Colle via a Tuscan food blog by Emiko Davies.  The sauce name Sugo Bugiardo indicates that the sauce itself is a fake or liar.   It contains a cheaper cut of meat such as sausage rather than beef.  These “fake” sauces came about when times were hard.  These are traditional peasant meals that “stretch” the food dollar to make an excellent, tasty meal with little money.  The Tuscan peasants used mostly leftovers to make these meals.  Traditionally, this meal is served with Pappardelle but I used Campanelle pasta which is shaped like a flower or  bell because I could not find any Pappardelle.  I liked the way this sauce tasted with the Campanelle even though it wasn’t what was recommended.  A good substitute that is recommended on some blogs is fettuccine.    

Sugo Bugiardo

Serves 6-8

1 Onion, finely chopped

2 Carrots, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

Italian parsley

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

½ pound pancetta

4 Tuscan style sausages, taken out of their skin casings

1 glass of red wine

2 lbs canned whole tomatoes (plum)

Salt and pepper , to taste

1.       Prepare the soffrito (sauce base) by chopping the onions, carrot and celery finely and sautéing them gently in some olive oil.  When they are golden, add the pancetta and sausage meat, crumbled. 

2.       Brown the meat slightly.

3.       Add the glass of wine, tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. 

4.       Bring it all to a simmer on low heat to reduce slightly.  Cook for 1 hour.

5.       Meanwhile, put on a pot of water to cook the pasta (this goes well with ribbon pasta like  Pappardelle or any long pasta). Even a bag of "noodle" type pasta would work.

6.       Serve with your pasta of choice, a sprinkle of parsley and some Parmesano Reggiano.

 Enjoy!