Cilantro Lime Jalapeño Rice
Happy St Patrick’s Day! This year it totally snuck up on me, so I did not plan for corned beef and cabbage….but I am making this festive green rice! Totally not traditional St Patty’s day food but delicious nonetheless!
In this recipe, we cook the rice with the “pasta method” meaning we cook the rice in lots of water, without measuring and strain it once it’s cooked. I like cooking rice and lentils this way because it’s less measuring and therefore less stressful! Lots of restaurants and chefs use this method. The sauce we are making is like a Mexican pesto, it’s so delicious and fresh! Make sure to check out my links for tools used in this recipe, specifically the mesh strainer. Some people don’t have this kind of strainer and the rice might escape the holes of a regular pasta strainer!
This dish would pair great with fish or as a side dish to any Mexican meal. It makes 8 servings, because I like to make lots for leftovers, but you could easily cut the recipe in half. I can’t wait for you to try it!
Ingredients (makes ~8 side dish servings)
2 cups dry basmati rice
1/2 red onion (or 1 shallot), diced
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
4 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 bunch cilantro (leaves and tender stems only)
1 bunch parsley (leaves and tender stems only)
1 jalapeño, chopped and seeded
2 limes, juiced +more to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt+ more for cooking and to taste
Instructions:
Start by cooking the rice. Fill a large pot with water 3/4 full, and bring to a boil over high heat. Season the water with a few big pinches of salt. Stir in the rice once water is boiling, reduce the heat to medium, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until done, about 15 minutes.
While the rice is cooking, start sautéing the red onion and garlic. Heat 1 Tbs oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté, stirring gently, until onions are soft, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool a bit.
When the rice is done, strain with a mesh strainer, then spread out on a sheet pan to cool. Drizzle with about 1 Tbs olive oil.
Next, add your cilantro, parsley, jalapeño, lime juice, remaining 2 Tbs oil, 1/2 tsp salt and slightly cooled onions and garlic to a blender. Blend until you have reached a runny-like consistency similar to pesto. May need to add a little more oil. Season to taste with additional lime juice and salt to your liking.
Finally, in a large bowl, toss rice with about half of the green sauce. Add more sauce to your liking, but you will probably have leftover green sauce depending on how saucy you like it!
Garnish with additional herbs (optional) and serve the rest of the sauce on the side! Pairs well with fish or any Mexican dish!
Tools I love and recommend for this recipe (Affiliate links):
I am so excited for you to try this recipe! If you post a picture, please tag me @Rachel.Master.Kitchen and Hashtag #RachelMasterKitchen on instagram!
