Green Mexican Rice loaded with Spring herbs

Serves 4

Ingredients

400g basmati rice
1 clove garlic, or a stem of spring garlic
1 small onion
2 large handfuls of coriander
1 bunch of parsley
olive oil
600mL chicken or veggie stock or water
salt and freshly ground pepper
pickled jalepeños (optional)

Summary

Spice up your rice. Or at least, crank up the flavour with onion and spring garlic, and load it with the glorious green herbs of Spring. It’s a delicious upgrade for the midweek staple, and pretty unbeatable with a simple serve of fish or chicken or as part of a bigger Mexican inspired feast.

Adapted from a recipe by Thomasina Miers. We’ve kept half the herbs fresh instead of cooking them in quick purée as she does, but the outcome is just as delicious.

Green Mexican Rice

Rinse the rice under cold water.

Finely chop the onion and spring garlic, and the herb stems. Alternatively, whiz the onion, garlic and whole herbs in a food processor with a glug of olive oil (2 Tbsp) and a splash of water, until you have a thick green paste.

Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan and add the above, stirring to fry it for 5 minutes. Then add the rice and continue until the grains start to become a little translucent.

Turn the oven on to a low 120ºC. Pour in the stock (and any extra seasoning if necessary) and simmer for about 15 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Cover with greaseproof paper, pop the lid on and put it in the oven for 30 minutes to finish cooking and get nice and fluffy.

Side note – We reckon it’d be equally fine to fully cook the rice on the stove, then pop a tea towel under the lid and leave for 30 minutes to steam. But look, if you’ve got the oven on low and some greaseproof paper handy, go for it!.

Before serving, chop and stir through the rest of the fresh herbs. Season to taste.