Arroz con Crema (Creamy Rice Casserole)

After watching yet another episode of ‘The Best Thing I Ever Ate’ (‘The Obsession’ episode) a few months ago, one of the chefs, Aaron Sanchez, had said that one of the things he “obsesses” about is the Arroz con Crema dish at his mother’s restaurant Zarela, which is located in New York City.  Once I saw this creamy rice dish, I made it a mission to find the recipe.  Well lo and behold, it took all of about 3 seconds, because Ms. Martinez was very nice enough to post the recipe on her website.  This rice is sooo good.  I’ve posted it below, but I would encourage you to go to this restaurant’s website.  It’s got alot of great recipes, as well as info about the owner, and goings on in her community. 

 

Ingredients

4  cups water

2  cups Uncle Ben’s or other converted rice

1  Tablespoon butter

2  teaspoons salt

For the sour cream mixture (crema agria preparada)

2  cups sour cream

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 minced garlic clove

2   tablespoons lard or vegetable oil

2   poblano chiles, roasted, peeled and deveined

1/2  cup chopped onion

1 garlic clove

1 16 ounce can corn

1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese

Directions

 

Bring water to a boil and add buttter and salt.  When the butter is melted, add the rice and bring back to a boil.  Lower the  heat to very low, cover the rice with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 25 to 30 minutes,  Take rice out of the saucepan and spread on a baking sheet to cool  or allow to cool in the pan uncovered.

Meanwhile, combine the sour cream with the chopped onion and cilantro and add salt to taste.

Heat the lard in a frying pan and add the chopped onion and garlic clove. Dice the poblanos and add to pan when the onion is wilted.  Saute for one minute.  Let cool and combine with the rice.

Drain the can of corn well and add to the cool rice and poblano mixture. Add the sour cream mixture and mix in the grated cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes or until heated through in a 350 degree oven.  If using a pyrex dish, the oven temperature should be 325 degrees.

Filipino Garlic Rice

Growing up with a southern mom, we ate rice every night.  Except of course if we had lasagna or something like that.  When we moved to the Philippines, we had a housekeeper named Ming, and she quickly took over the duties of cooking all our family meals.  And when she found out that one of our staples was rice with practically every meal, that very night she made us Garlic Rice as our side.  It was awesome! 

When we moved back to the states, we quickly went back to the normal white rice that we were previously used to.  And we learned to love it again. 

But when I became friends with a very nice elderly Filipino woman a few years ago…I quickly asked her if she knew how to make Garlic Rice.  Well, after she looked at me like I had 3 heads, she said “Of course I do!” 

Yes.  I felt stupid. 

Anyway, there are 2 things that you need to make sure of when making this dish. 

1. Don’t let the garlic burn.  Watch it very closely.  Please.  If by chance it does burn, you should obviously discard the garlic, but also go the extra step and wash out your pan.  Don’t just wipe it out, because the burned garlic taste will probably still be there.

2 .Use left over, day old rice.  Or at least make it a day ahead.  This lets the rice become completely dry.  If you try to make the rice at the time you make the meal, it will turn out mushy.

This is another meal that Filipinos eat any time of the day.  It’s very popular for breakfast, using the leftover rice from last night’s meal.  It’s often served with one of the many Filipino sausages on the side, dried fish, beef, pork, pickled veggies….it goes on and on.

This is a great change from your basic side of white rice, mashed potatoes, or whatever starch you include with your meals.

Ingredients

 1 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp chopped garlic

4 cups cooked white rice

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper to taste

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and  cook and stir until the garlic turns golden.

Add the cooked rice, salt and pepper. Stir until the rice is heated through.

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Cuban Rice

This is a recipe I received from a friend when she brought this dish to work one day for a potluck.  I immediately fell in love with it and asked for the recipe.  This is a nice change from regular boring rice and is a nice alternative to your basic asian fried rice. 

Ingredients

3 cups cooked white rice, cooled

1/2 pound cubed, cooked bacon or chorizo sausage 

2 medium yellow onions, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

16-ounce bag frozen peas

1/2 stick butter

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons white table sugar

1 tablespoon salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder 

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1-2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Directions 

Heat a large sautee pan over med-high heat, and melt 1/2 stick of butter. Once melted, add the onion, pepper and butter.  Let cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and the pepper has softened.  Add the bacon and olive oil, and stir.  Add the peas and let cook until the peas have warmed through.  Add the sugar, salt, paprika, garlic powder, red pepper, and black pepper to the pan and incorporate.  Add the rice to the pan, and mix throughly, but gently as to not mush the rice.  Let the rice heat through, and stir occasionally so the rice does not stick.  

Top with the toasted sesame seeds before serving.

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Arroz con Leche

I was given this recipe many years ago, and it’s super good!! 

By the way, this is the Cuban version.  I know there’s Arroz con Leche made in Mexico, and a few other places.  And truthfully, I don’t know what the difference is, but I know there’s a difference.  I was just told by the creater of this dish to make sure to let you all know this.  So I did. 

If you like, add raisins!  It creates a great tart vs. sweet battle on your tastebuds that you’ll thank me for later.  I also had a friend that used to bury a piece of Guava in the middle of the hot rice and let it sit a bit (I guess it gets kind of gooey), and eat it warm.  Mmmm…sounds good, huh??

Ingredients

1 cup short grain rice

2 cups water

1 cinnamon stick

2 large strips of lemon peel (without the pith)

1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp sugar

ground cinnamon garnish

Directions

 
Wash the rice, to get rid of alot of the starch.  Place the rice in a pot and fill with water until about 1 inch above the rice.  Swish the rice around and drain the water.  Repeat this process until the water runs clear.  (It will be cloudy at first)
After you’ve drained the rice for the final time, keep the rice in the pot, and add the water, lemon zest and cinammon stick.  Bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce the heat and cover.  Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Uncover and remove the cinnamon and lemon peel.  Add the milks and vanilla and incorporate.

Cook uncovered over medium low heat, every couple minutes until the majority of the liquid is absorbed.  (Or until your desired consistency.  Some people like it kind of soupy, while others like it thick and creamy) 

Once the consistancy is to your liking, add the sugar and stir.

Remove from heat and sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon. 

This can be eaten hot or cold.  But luke warm isn’t all that appetizing.

Shrimp Étouffée

Being raised with a mother from Louisiana, surprisingly I can only remember having this dish about twice when growing up.  I’m not sure why…we were all fans of seafood, rice, and all the other wonderful ingredients in this recipe.  When I grew up and moved out, my mother gave me a Cajun cookbook one year (I think for Christmas or something) and in there was this recipe for Shrimp Étouffée. 

The recipe is courtesy of Britt Shockley.  The original recipe, Crawfish Étouffée has won the world championship for 1991, 1992, and 1993.  Everything is exactly the same, except of course I’ve sub’d shrimp for the crawfish. 

This dish is sure to impress any connoisseur of Cajun cuisine.

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1 large onion, diced

1 large bell pepper, diced

1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups seafood stock

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp red pepper

1/8 tsp white pepper

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 lb medium shrimp (the original recipe calls for 1 lb crawfish tails)

1 cup soft butter

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup chopped parsley

Steamed rice

Directions

Melt 1/2 cup butter over medium high heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  Add the onion and bell pepper; cook until soft.  Add flour, and stir well to blend.  Coook 5 minutes.  Add seafood stock and whisk until smooth.  Add seasonings.  Bring to boil; then simmer for 30 minutes.  Add the Shrimp.  Blend well, and cook 10 minutes.  Lower the heat and stir in soft butter until incorporated (do not bring to a boil).  Add green onions and parsley.  Serve over steamed rice.

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Red Beans & Rice (Slow Cooker Version)

If you’re into southern food, then you know about red beans & rice.  This is an authentic recipe that will impress anyone that is a connoisseur of this great dish!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Serves 8

Ingredients

1 pound dry kidney beans

1 large onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 tablespoons garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups water

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 tablespoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1 pound andouille sausage, sliced

4 ham hocks

Directions

Rinse the beans to make sure they have no rocks or gravel and place in the slow cooker. Clean the ham hocks under warm running water and place in the crock pot along with the rest of the ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 4 hrs or low for 8. 

About 3/4 of the way through, I usually check to make sure my beans haven’t gotten too dry (if I’m home), if so, just add enough water or chicken broth to make them moist again.  They should be more creamy…not soupy.

After cooking is complete, remove the Bay Leaves.  (If you don’t remove them, at least, please don’t eat them!!)  Remove the hocks and put them on a plate (remove any beans from the hocks).  With a potato masher, mash the beans until they reach the proper consistency (about half the beans should be mashed, the other half stay whole).  After smashing about half of them, mix together.  They should be creamy. 

When the hocks have cooled for a few minutes, remove and discard the skin.  Take the meat off the bone, and chop into chunks.  Add the meat back to the beans and stir to incorporate.

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Rice

4 cups water

2 cups long grain white rice

In a saucepan, bring water and rice to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.  Uncover, and fluff with a fork.  Cook uncovered for another 5 minutes.

Serve beans over steamed white rice.

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