Portuguese Arroz

This is a herb filled and tomatoey rice dish that has just a bit of a spicy kick to it. It is super simple to make and has become one of my favourite ways to eat brown rice. I found it via the recipes page on the Dr. McDougall site. There is a plethora of low fat, easy to make recipes on that site, so do check it out. And yes, they are all vegan!


What you will need:

1 ½ cups yellow onion, finely chopped (optional)
4 teaspoons garlic, minced (optional)
½ - 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper chili flakes
1 bay leaf
1 ½ cups tomatoes, chopped 
2-¼ cups water
1-cup vegetable broth ( I use either bouillon powder or cubes by Marigold or Massel )
3 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley leaves, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1 ½ cups long grain brown rice, uncooked ( I used a mix of short and long grain and it worked out fine.)

Method:

In a large non-stick pan, sauté the onions with ¼ cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 7 minutes.  Add the garlic, crushed red pepper chili flakes and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute, stirring well. 

Add the tomatoes, mix well, and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes.  

Add the remaining water, vegetable broth, parsley and cilantro and stir.  Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Add rice and stir well.  

When the liquid returns to a boil, stir again and cover the pot with a lid and reduce heat to low.  Cook the rice undisturbed for 35 minutes.  

Mix the rice well and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, or until the rice is tender.  Let the rice stand for 5 minutes.  Remove the bay leaf and fluff the rice with a fork.  Serve with fresh ground black pepper and salt to taste, if desired.