Easy Mexican Green Rice Recipe (Arroz Verde)

Although a tomato and dried chili based Mexican red rice serves as my everyday staple – this Mexican green rice (arroz verde) makes for a great change of pace, tastes great and looks striking on the plate.

And it's a cinch to make...

Here’s my version of Mexican green rice, a methodology and recipe originally taken from a book on Mexican cooking by south of the border cuisine-king Rick Bayless, and altered little by little over the years to suit my tastes.

Mexican Green Rice

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 poblano chilies chopped, or 1 poblano chili and a couple of jalapenos (Take out the seeds and stems)
• ½ cup of fresh cilantro, stems and all
• 2 cups of chicken stock
• 1 cup of medium or long grain rice (I tend to use Jasmine rice, since that’s what’s around where I live, but use what you like)
• Salt, to taste
• 2 Tbls of olive oil

1. Toss the chilies and cilantro into a blender and purée, adding some of the chicken stock to the blender to get things moving along.
2. Heat a sauce pot large enough to cook your rice over medium and add in the olive oil. When hot, add in the onions and fry until they are softened, stirring often for about 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook stirring for about 30 seconds and then add in the rice, and cook, stirring constantly, for another 2 minutes.
3. Add in the contents of the blender and any remaining chicken stock to the sauce pot and stir briefly.
4. Reduce the heat to medium low and cover the rice. Let cook for 20 minutes and the turn off the heat and let it sit for another five.
5. Uncover and season with salt, stirring well to distribute the salt evenly, and then serve with any of your favorite Mexican meals.