Garlic and Spinach Rice
A few weeks ago Jon's dad came to visit from Maine. We love cooking for him as much as he loves eating when he's here. We cooked a few meals for him during this visit, including a great grilled feast that my parents also enjoyed with us.
We marinated and grilled sirloin kabobs using this marinade that I created a few years ago. It is sweet and spicy with ingredients like pineapple, soy sauce, hoisin, and chili garlic paste, and works so well with beef. Grilled veggies are a favorite in this house, so we grilled zucchini, peppers, and red onion. Finally, I finished the meal with a rice dish that I first saw on What's Cooking Chicago. The original recipe was for Spinach Leek Garlic Rice, but I didn't have leeks so I used onions instead. It worked just fine, but I would definitely like to try the dish using leeks at some point.
The rice was a hit, and people were going back for seconds. It reminded me a bit of a mild version of one of my favorite Mexican rice dishes, Rice with Roasted Poblanos, Spinach, and Queso Fresco. Come to think of it, some cheese crumbled over this rice would have been really good.. next time!
Rice dishes like this are easy dishes to start and then let cook while we were preparing the rest of the meal - this one didn't require a lot of attention at all.
Garlic and Spinach Rice
Slightly adapted from What's Cooking Chicago
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 tbsp butter
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups long-grain white rice
- 1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained
- 3 1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
Directions
- Heat oil and butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the rice and stir to coat, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add spinach and broth and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until rice is cooked and the liquid has absorbed, about 20 minutes.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper
