Vegetarian: Skillet Spanish Rice

July 13, 2015

WOW! It's been more than a month since I've been able to sit down and actually write anything in my blog... what a slacker! Just because I haven't written in the blog doesn't mean that I haven't been working on the recipes. I have. In fact, yesterday I completed the 360th. recipe. YAY me! I posted the last several recipes on my facebook asking for requests and today's recipe is one with a request. It's a wonderful take on Spanish rice. It's called Skillet Spanish Rice and is made with vegetable broth so it's very vegetarian.

Skillet Spanish Rice

Serves 4, working time 20 min., total time 40 min.
GTLF: Meatless Main Dishes p. 55

2 tsp olive oil

1 leek, quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced, or 5 scallions; thinly sliced

2 zucchini, thinly sliced

1 red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 C long grain rice

14 1/2 oz can reduced sodium vegetable broth

1/4 C dry white wine

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

15 oz. can no salt added tomatoes, chopped and drained, juices reserved

1 1/2 C frozen peas

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil until hot but not smoking over medium high heat. Add the leek, zucchini, and onion and cook until the onion begins to soften, about 4 min. Stir in the basil, thyme, turmeric, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 1 min.

2. Add the rice to the pan, stirring to coat. Stir in the broth, wine, vinegar, reserved tomato liquid, and 1/2 C of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 15 min. Stir in the tomatoes and peas, cover, and cook until the rice is tender, about 5 min. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.

Nutritional Information: 4 g fat, 340 calories, 1 g sat. fat, 64 g carbohydrate, 11 g protein, 2 mg cholesterol, 522 mg sodium.

TIPS:

1. I try really hard to taste the turmeric, but more and more I think the biggest effect of that spice is to give food a really bright, beautiful yellow color.

2. Zucchini doesn't last long in the refrigerator. One of my zucchini's went bad so I only used one zucchini to make this dish. Oh well, two would have been better, but the flavors were wonderful regardless.

3. I have decided I LOVE cooking with wine. I now have 8 oz. bottles of wine in my spice cabinet on a regular basis. It's funny, most people have wine in the wine cabinet for drinking, but me, it's in the spice cabinet. It gives food a very pretty fragrance and a lovely taste. Also, it adds a level of sophistication to the preparation of the food which makes me feel like I'm maturing as a cook.