Red Beans and Sofrito Saffron Rice
Smoky sofrito mixed in aromatic jasmine rice boiled with saffron, sweet corn, and red beans tossed into the rice with some spices to complete the dish. A perfect accompaniment to any Taco Tuesday night you have.
Ingredients
For the Sofrito
- 1 medium yellow onion. finely chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- 1 large red bell pepper cut into 1/4 inch pieces
- ¼ cup plus 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 14-ounce cans ROTEL Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies, liquid separated, or 5 to 6 large diced ripe tomatoes, (*1)
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
For the Rice
- ½ teaspoon saffron
- ½ cup hot water
- 1 ½ cups jasmine rice
- 1 ½ cup water
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 oz frozen sweet corn
- 1 14 oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp chile powder
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro or 2 tsp dried cilantro
Instructions
For the Sofrito
- Drain the liquid from the tomato can into a separate bowl and set it aside to use as some of the liquid for the rice.
- Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Make sure the olive oil coats the bottom of the pan.
- Add the onions into the pan and sauté them until transparent, reducing the heat if you need to so you avoid over-browning, about 3 minutes.
- Add the green pepper and continue to cook for 5 minutes, adding more olive oil, if necessary. Be sure to stir often, so the vegetables do not burn.
- Add the garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.
- Add the ROTEL tomatoes and paprika to the pan and mix well.
- Continue to cook for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the liquid released from the tomatoes is evaporated and the consistency of the sofrito is a somewhat thick sauce. Set the sofrito aside in a bowl for the rice, and set the pan aside. You're going to be using it for toasting the rice!
For the Rice
- Sprinkle the saffron into the hot water and set it aside for 5 minutes to soak, allowing the color and aromatics to come out.
- Add the reserved tomato liquid to the saffron water. Add 1 1/2 cups of water to the tomato-saffron water. This should bring the total measurement to 2 1/4 liquid. Set aside.
- In the same frying pan you used for sofrito, drizzle olive oil and heat to medium heat, then add the rice and toast for 3 minutes, or until a nutty aroma emerges and rice is slightly toasted. Stir to pick up the lingering sofrito. Transfer the rice to a medium saucepot, or a saucepot big enough to fit the rice, and add the reserved 2 1/4 cups of liquid (*2) and the bay leaves to the rice and simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add the red kidney beans and corn, and simmer for 5 minutes more for a total of 15 minutes, or until rice is cooked through and the corn is defrosted. (*3)
- Discard the bay leaves, pour the rice into a mixing bowl and fluff the rice. Add the salt, pepper, ground cumin, chile powder, garlic powder, and cilantro. Mix to combine into the rice. Add the sofrito to the rice and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
(*1) If you are chopping fresh tomatoes, add 1/4 cup more water to the saffron water.
(*2) If this liquid does not cook the rice fully (it fully cooked for me with this amount), feel free to add 1/4 cup more of liquid at a time until the rice is cooked through.
(*3) If you are cooking according to package directions, add the kidney beans and corn during the last 5 minutes of cooking.