Spanish Rice

This is a great, quick and easy side dish for all Spanish or Mexican foods. It is also a great ingredient several recipes.

Water, rice, chili powder, diced tomatoes and green chilies, salt, and oil

I put a quarter cup of oil in a cast iron pan on high heat.

Then I keep it at high throughout the entire process.

Run water over a cup and a quarter of rice. Stir the rice until the water is milky and then pour off and repeat until the water is mostly clear. This stops the rice from sticking together in the final dish.

Put the rice into hot oil. Be careful because it will splatter since the oil is already hot and the rice is wet.

Stir to coat the rice with the oil. Then add a tablespoon of chili powder (more or less to taste).

Stir again.

You'll want to stir the oil, rice, and chili powder until the seasoning is uniform throughout.

Then make the rice an even layer across the bottom of the pan.

Add a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes and green chilis. Sometimes I will add extra if I want a more tomatoey acidic flavor. Spread evenly over the rice.

Add water until it's about a half to three-quarters of an inch deep over the rice.

Add salt to taste.

At this point, if you don't want to watch it closely, you can turn the heat down. It will just take longer. Try not to remove the lid repeatedly through cooking. Look for when most of the water is absorbed and little bubbles from the bottom percolate up and leave small craters on the top of the rice. When this happens it is ready.

This dish is great with tacos, burritos, nachos, and other Mexican dishes.