Green Rice (Arroz Verde)

For our Mexican feast this Saturday, I made some tasty and tangy green poblano rice, called arroz verde in Spanish, to accompany the pork chops. This is a simple dish that combines lots of fresh healthy veggies and herbs with spicy poblano pepper and rice. It makes a lovely accompaniment for grilled meats.

Poblanos are large, mild peppers, somewhere between a bell pepper and a jalepeno on the spicy scale. They add an intensity and heat to the dish without too much spice. Combined with cooling herbs, in this case cilantro and mint, it adds a lot of flavor to this simple dish.

There are many ways to make this dish, and you can use a number of different herbs, types of rice, or veggies to make it your own. I used the various things I had just grabbed at the farmers market: spinach, spring onions, baby leeks, cilantro and mint. But parsley and basil can also add some fabulous flavors. I made a big batch of this planning for some leftovers and I have not been disappointed. I brought some cold for lunch today and it was fantastic. I think next time I may add some nuts for crunch.

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Read more for the full recipe!

Note: The amount of liquid needed is wholly dependent on the type of rice you use. I use the slow cooking kind, so this amount of liquid is appropriate. If you're going with different types of rice, add the veggie broth 1/2 cup at a time to make sure you don't add too much liquid.

Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 leek, washed, greens removed and sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups fresh spinach, washed

1 poblano pepper, washed and seeded

2 tbsp fresh cilantro
1 tbsp fresh mint
1/2 cup water
1 cup of rice (I used 1/2 cup brown, and 1/4 cup each wild and basamati)
2 cups low sodium veggie broth
2 tbsp lime juice (approx 1/2 lime)


Step by Step Instructions:
1. In a large saucepan, saute onion, leek and garlic in olive oil 3-4 minutes, until softened
2. In a food processor, combine spinach, poblano, cilantro, mint and water, puree until smooth
3. Add rice to pot, add spinach puree, lime juice and veggie broth
4. Bring to a boil
5. Cover and reduce heat to med-low
6. Simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is cooked 30-40 minutes, depending on the type of rice you use.