Fat Girl Red Rice
Serves 6 to 8
One night when we were having plain roast chicken and some sautéed kale for dinner, I wanted to make the rice a little more interesting. I added ingredients that I had on hand to enhance a recipe for Basic White Rice (page 187). The sun-dried tomatoes reddened the rice. The outcome combined so well with the Fried Kale (page 211) that I couldn’t stop eating it. Hence the “fat girl” in its name.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 onion, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 cups long-grain white rice
- 4 oil-packed sun-dried tomato halves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 3 cups chicken broth
DIRECTIONS
- Heat a medium pot over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic. Cook and stir until translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the rice and stir to toast it and coat it with the oil, about 90 seconds.
- Stir in the sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, and salt. Stir and cook to fully incorporate, about 1 minute.
- Add the chicken broth. Raise the heat to high, bring to a boil, and lower the heat to allow the rice to briskly simmer until holes form on top of it, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork and serve.
cook's note
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: A favorite pantry item, sun-dried tomatoes (which, along with balsamic vinegar, rank as an often-abused ingredient) have a deep roasted earthy flavor and can be purchased in different forms and degrees of quality.
• Packed in oil
• Packed dry; must be plumped for 10 minutes in boiled water, then drained
• Puréed
To make your own oven-dried tomatoes, preheat the oven to 300°F. Wash and dry 3 pounds of Roma tomatoes. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and drain, cut sides down, on wire racks set over rimmed baking sheets for 15 minutes. Place the tomato halves on the baking sheets in a single layer and roast, turning once, for about 2 hours, until the tomatoes have given up most of their moisture. Let cool, cover in olive oil, then store in an airtight plastic container. Use refrigerated tomatoes within 1 month, or freeze dried tomatoes without oil for up to 3 months. To rehydrate dried tomatoes, cover with boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and cover with olive oil.
• Packed in oil
• Packed dry; must be plumped for 10 minutes in boiled water, then drained
• Puréed
To make your own oven-dried tomatoes, preheat the oven to 300°F. Wash and dry 3 pounds of Roma tomatoes. Halve the tomatoes lengthwise and drain, cut sides down, on wire racks set over rimmed baking sheets for 15 minutes. Place the tomato halves on the baking sheets in a single layer and roast, turning once, for about 2 hours, until the tomatoes have given up most of their moisture. Let cool, cover in olive oil, then store in an airtight plastic container. Use refrigerated tomatoes within 1 month, or freeze dried tomatoes without oil for up to 3 months. To rehydrate dried tomatoes, cover with boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain and cover with olive oil.
pantry
Need help with the ingredients? Check our pantry list: