Arroz con Tomat - Sephardic Rice Recipe
Adapted from the Sephardic Temple Or Chadash Sisterhood of Los Angeles, The Sephardic Heritage Cookbook (2016) for NELC0620.
Arroz con Tomat - Sephardic Rice Recipe
A recipe by Honey Kessler Amado, from her mother-in-law, Bernice Amado
Makes 4 servings
1 cup rice
¼ cup oil
¼ cup diced yellow onion
2 small tomatoes, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon paste
This was altered from the original ½ teaspoon bouillon concentrate to accommodate vegetarian members of the team
Goya brand Adobo seasoning to taste
This was altered from the original 1 tablespoon kosher salt just to further enhance the seasoning profile. Typically when we cook we include garlic and spices, which this recipe did not originally have.
Rinse rice twice, and leave to drain while preparing the vegetables
Dicing an Onion
Score the tomato skin in wedges, before using a small knife to peel the skin from the flesh. After the tomato is peeled, use a plane grater to grate the tomato.
Grated tomato
Warm oil in a medium saucepan with a good lid. Add diced onions to warn (but not hot) oil to soften, around 4 minutes; do not brown. Add the grated tomato, and bring the mixture to a boil.
Estimate the liquid quantity of oil-onion-tomato mixture, and add enough water to make two cups of liquid. (Proportion of liquid to rice should be 2:1. When in doubt, more water is better than less water). We estimated that our tomato mixture was approximately 1 cup in volume (which turned out to be an underestimate), and we therefore added an additional cup of water. Bring this mixture to a full boil. Add bouillon and adobo seasoning to taste.
Placing foil under pot lid
Add rice to boiling water mixture, put a layer of foil under the lid of the pot to trap in steam, cover. Cook at medium to low heat for 25 minutes, making sure to maintain a low, gentle boil.
This was modified from the original recipe because the electric stove we were using did not run very hot, and we worried putting another medium for heat to dissipate through would make it so that our rice would not cook properly. The longer cooking time accounts for the 18 minutes called for in the recipe, but also the time that would have been spent for the liquid to cook off.
Uncover the pot and fluff with a fork. If rice is still a bit wet, cook uncovered over medium low heat for 2-3 minutes to help cook off some of the moisture; do not burn the rice.
Plate and enjoy
Reflection
Arroz con Tomat, like many rice dishes, is incredibly versatile and can be eaten with stews, meats, vegetables, or even on its own! The rice is flavourful, rich in color, and aromatic. Its likeness is very similar to Spanish Rice. Furthermore, the dish gives the maker much room for flexibility in tailoring the dish to their own taste. Whether that be the very grain of rice used or even the type of tomato included, there is freedom to alter the taste of the dish to fit the user. Overall, the dish is fairly easy and inexpensive to make. We encourage everyone, if granted the opportunity, to pursue making this dish!