Classic Red Tomato Rice

I made this out of Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen cookbook (a great gift from Jesse). The salsa that goes into the rice is so delicious. It is especially good this time of year because nearly every ingredient came from the farm. Move over Bobbie Salsa, Lisa Salsa is in town! (Doesn't have quite the same ring to it, does it.) Warning: this recipe is a little fussy, but totally worth it.

• 1 lb ripe tomatoes
• 2 jalapeños
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• salt
• 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 2 TBS vegetable oil
• 2 cups white rice
• 1.5 cups water

1. Roast the tomatoes on a baking sheet under the broiler until blackened on one side, about 6 minutes. Flip and roast the other side. Cool and peel, collecting all the juices with the tomatoes. While the tomatoes are roasting, roast the chiles and unpeeled garlic directly on an ungreased griddle or heavy skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until soft and blackened in spots. (The chiles will take 5 - 10 minutes, the garlic 15 minutes.) Cool, then pull the stems from the chiles and peel the garlic.
2. In a food processor, whir the chiles, garlic and 1/2 tsp of salt into a coarse pursee. Add the tomatoes and whir again. Rinse the onion in a strainer under cold water, shake off the excess and add to the tomato mixture along with 1/2 cup of the cilantro. (At this point, make sure you have at least 2 cups of salsa.)
3. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. In a 3-qt ovenproof saucepan heat the oil over medium. Add the rice and cook, stirring regularly, until the rice turns chalky looking, about 5 minutes. If some kernels brown, it's fine. Add 2 cups of the salsa and stir for a minute as the salsa sears and reduces a little. Add the water and 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil and stir. Cover the pan tightly and bake for 25 minutes. (Test and make sure the rice is nearly done.) Let the rice stand out of the oven for a few minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of the cilantro over the rice, then use a fork to fluff the mixture and fold in the cilantro.

Fine Cooking September 2008

If it's still on the newsstand, you should rush out and get a copy of this one. It's chockablock of great recipes.

So far, I've made the Mexican Black Bean Burgers, Pepper Crusted Beef with Rosemary Chimichuri and the Nicoise Salad with Tuna and Potatoes (above).

Still to try: Cinnamon-Walnut Shortcakes with Caramelized Plums, Summer Vegetable Soup with Dill, Smoked Heirloom Tomato Relish and much more.

I'll post recipes for the first dishes when I get more time.

Here's the summary from the website:
http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/fc_currentissue.asp

Spinach and Hot Ham Pasta Bake

My really good friend Jill lost her dad earlier this week. She's also a military wife and her husband is deployed. The instant I got the phone call I knew exactly what I needed to do. Make her something she would eat. Jill has said before she would eat anything I cook for her so I dug deep and thought about something that would look pretty, seem healthy but had immense amounts of cheese. This is truly one of the most comforting meals I can think of and it yields a ton (9x13 dish).

Btw, this is a Rachel Ray recipe and she scares me - but I think we have already talked about this... So here it is:


Ingredients:
1 lb cavatappi pasta or any short pasta with lines (I used mezza penne)
3 tbsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1.5 cup whole milk or 2%
1/2 lb sliced capocollo ham, sliced thin
1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 cup grated parmigiano-regiano
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb mozzarella, in 1/2" cubes
1 cup breadcrumbs

preparation:

1/ boil pasta and pre-heat broiler
2/ in large saucepan at medium heat - 1 tbsp EVOO and butter. when
butter melts add garlic and onion. season w/ salt and pepper.
3/ dust onions w/ flour and cook stirring for 1 min. slowly whisk in
milk. bring to a bubble and let thicken.
4/ stir in ham, spinach and 1/2 cup parmigiano-regiano
5/ season w/ nutmeg and cayenne pepper
6/ drain pasta when ready. combine cubed mozzarella w/ pasta and sauce
and toss to coat. transfer to baking dish.
7/ breadcrumb topping: combine breadcrumbs, 2 tsp EVOO and 1/2
parm-reg cheese. sprinkle on top of pasta.
8/ broil for 1min until topping browns.

Note - I usually put it in the oven at 300 covered after the broiling part when waiting for guests so the mozzarella melts and makes it all gooier and yummier...

Enjoy!