Jamaican rice
Jalapeño, fennel, rosemary, and allspice are among the flavors in this simple rice dish.
Servings: 3
Preparation Time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 1/4 cup split peas
- 2 cups water
- 3 cups chopped, fresh cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup diced celery
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 dried jalapeños
- 1 three-inch stick of fennel
- 4 peppercorns
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 1/8 tsp coriander
Steps
- Put rice, split peas, and water into a pot, and bring to a boil.
- Put everything else into the pot, putting the fennel and jalapeño on top
- Simmer for 40 minutes
- You’ll probably want to remove the fennel and jalapeño at this point.
You can vary the recipe by adding browned beef, bacon, or tofu, and peas or onions. It goes wonderfully with fried chicken, and for a great bread, use three-layer corn bread.
Use a blender or food processor for the tomatoes, but don’t process too much. Leave them chunky. And wild fennel works fine if you have some in the back canyon.
More rice
- Jerry’s Jambalaya
- This fresh-vegetable jambalaya is a wonderful stew-like mix of spicy vegetables, pork, and chicken. It will definitely brighten up a rainy evening!
- Green rice with corn and tomato
- Except for skinning the peppers, this is an easy rice dish and can be as spicy or mild as you wish.
- Doi bhat: ginger-scented rice
- This is a very lightly-spiced rice dish, very delicate and flavorful, and very easy to make. The most time-consuming part is making the rice.
- Persian-style tofu and rice
- This recipe is up by request after last year’s Christmas party. The spices in the “meatballs” really have their own flavor, and tofu’s amazing ability to absorb flavors makes this a worthwhile dish.