Recipe: Spanish Rice with Green Beans and Peas

Spanish Rice
with Green Beans and Peas

Makes 8 servings

Spanish Rice This combination captures the zesty essence of Spanish Mediterranean cooking.

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion,
   sliced vertically into thin wedges
2 large red sweet peppers, stems, seeds,
   and membranes discarded, sliced
   lengthwise into 1/4-inch-wide strips
10 ounces spicy Spanish sausage (chorizo),
   casings discarded, sliced about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup chopped drained sun-dried tomatoes
   packed in olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups short-grain white rice,
   preferably Spanish Valencia
3 cups Brown Stock, Vegetable Stock,
   White Stock, or canned broth
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads (optional)
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pound green beans, trimmed
   and cut into 3/4-inch lengths
2 cups tender shelled fresh or
    thawed frozen green (English) peas
3/4 cup sliced pitted green
   or brine-cured ripe olives
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish
Shredded fresh orange zest for garnish

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F.

In a sauté pan or large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and sweet peppers and cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chorizo, sun-dried tomatoes, and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes longer. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the grains are well coated, about 5 minutes. Stir in the stock or broth, wine, minced parsley, tomato paste, paprika, saffron (if using), and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then transfer to a large, shallow baking dish, preferably made of earthenware. Cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, blanch the green beans.

Remove the rice from the oven, uncover, and add the beans, peas, and olives, stirring well to distribute the ingredients evenly. Cover tightly, return to the oven, and bake until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 10 minutes; if the rice gets too dry before it is done, add a bit more stock, broth, or water.

Remove the dish from the oven and let stand for about 10 minutes, then sprinkle with chopped parsley and orange zest. At the table, spoon onto warmed plates.

Buy the Book!

James McNair's Favorites
By James McNair
Chronicle Books, September 1999
Hardback, $25.95
616 pages, 64 color photos
ISBN: 0-8118-0115-2
Recipe reprinted by permission.