Green Poblano Rice Arroz Verde Al Poblano Food

POBLANO GREEN RICE

Steps:

• Seed the poblano peppers, then rough chop them along with the onion. (Size is not super important, as we are going to purée them.) In a medium pot, add the vegetable oil and heat over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, onion and garlic and cook until the onions start to turn clear and all the veggies have some light caramelization. Transfer the mixture to a high-powered blender, such as a Vitamix, and pulse until the mixture is puréed thoroughly, about 2 minutes.
• In a medium pot, combine the vegetable stock, rice and pepper mixture. Stir well and bring to a boil. Drop down to a simmer, then cover and allow to cook until the rice is fluffy and the majority of the liquid has been absorbed, 18 to 20 minutes.
• Fold in the cilantro right before serving.

GREEN POBLANO RICE (ARROZ VERDE AL POBLANO)

Steps:

• The flavoring: In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the broth and chiles, bring to a boil, then partially cover and simmer gently over medium to medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the chiles are very soft. Pour the chile mixture into a food processor, add the cilantro (stems and all), and process to a smooth puree. Press through a medium-mesh strainer into a bowl and stir in the salt.
• The rice: Wipe the pan clean, add the oil and heat over medium. Add the rice and onion, and cook, stirring regularly, until the rice is chalky looking and the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook a minute longer.
• Add the warm (or reheated) chile liquid to the hot rice pan, stir once, scrape down any rice kernels clinging to the side of the pan, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and check a grain of rice: It should be nearly cooked through. If the rice is just about ready, turn off the heat, re-cover and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes longer to complete the cooking. If the rice seems far from done, continue cooking for 5 minutes or so, retest, then turn off the heat and let stand a few minutes longer. Fluff with a fork, scoop into a warm serving dish, decorate with cilantro sprigs and it's ready to serve.
• Advance preparation: The rice can be made several days ahead; turn out the fluffed rice onto a baking sheet to cool, transfer to a storage container, then cover and refrigerate. Reheat the rice in a steamer basket set over boiling water.
• Variations and improvisations: An obvious variation is to use 3 or 4 long green (Anaheim) chiles, or to mix poblanos and long greens with hotter chiles like jalapeño, manzano or habanero. Grilled corn cut from 1 cob or 1 large grilled zucchini (cubed) are tasty vegetable add-ins. About 1 cup coarsely shredded roast (or barbecued) pork or smoked salmon, mixed in toward the end of cooking, will make green rice a full meal.