Spanish Rice: Thirty-Minute Meal - 30-Minute Meals - Cooking

Spanish Rice: 30-Minute Meal

No Comments | Written on January 11, 2012 at 3:00 pm, by The Editors

Spanish rice is one those go-to weeknight suppers that never go wrong. But is it Spanish? Well, no. There’s a lot of talk about how Spanish rice got its name, but most folks agree that the uberpopular combination of rice, tomatoes, peppers, onions (and bacon or other meat, if you like) is more a Mexican-style rice. In Spain, it’s all about classic paella, which is fabulous, with its seafood, chicken, and spicy chorizo, and, let’s face it, fabulously time-consuming.

But how about if you took the ease of traditional Spanish rice and combined it with the complex flavors of paella? We’d say, it’s what we want for dinner.

First, though, let’s begin with this baseline Spanish rice recipe. This classic lets you can have dinner on the table in about 30 minutes. It can be served as a side with a meat dish, or stand proudly on its own as a quick vegetarian entrée. You can adjust the heat by adding jalapeño or serrano chiles. (Want a video lesson? Watch “How to Cook Spanish Rice” right here.)

Now for the truly Spanish twist. In this recipe for Spanish Rice with Chicken and Shrimp, you’ll buy shrimp already peeled and deveined (to save time) and some boneless, skinless chicken breasts. After stir-frying the chicken with peppers and onions, you’ll add wine or chicken broth, tomatoes, garlic, the shrimp, peas, and spices, and serve it all over plain rice or a store-bought Spanish rice pilaf mix.