Poblano Rice

This rice is a version of Mexican rice but instead of using tomato, it uses poblano. It doesn't end up with a heavy poblano flavor but does give the rice a nice shade of green. I like to serve it with grilled chicken or fish and with the Creamy Verde Sauce. 

Ingredients: 

1 2/3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, low-sodium 
2 fresh poblano chiles, stems and seeds removed and roughly chopped 
12 sprigs cilantro, plus extra for garnish 
Kosher salt 
1 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil 
1 cup medium-grain rice 
1 medium yellow onion 
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped 

Directions: 

1. To a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat, add broth and chiles, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium heat, 10 minutes. 

2. To a blender pitcher, add stock, chile mixture, and cilantro; puree until smooth. 

3. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a liquid measuring cup and strain, removing poblano solids. Add additional chicken stock to bring volume to 1 2/3 cups. Taste and season with salt. 

4. To a medium saucepan set over medium heat, add oil. Once shimmering, add the rice and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is coated in the oil and the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. 

5. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. 

6. Add chile stock to rice and stir once, bring to a boil. Using a silicone spatula, scrape down any rice on the side of the pan. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the liquid is absorbed into the rice, about 15 minutes. 

7. Once the rice is ready, turn off the heat. Fluff with a fork. Re-cover and allow to stand for 5 to 10 minutes. 

8. To serve, sprinkle with additional cilantro and serve immediately

Creamy Verde Sauce

This works great as a sauce or as a dip for tortilla chips. While it uses jalapenos, it's not a very spicy dish. This recipe makes about 1 1/2 cups of the sauce. I like to serve it with Mexican food as a crema or with roasted chicken and rice. 

Ingredients:

1 large jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped 
1 cup cilantro leaves, lightly packed 
1 medium garlic clove, peeled and chopped 
1/2 cup mayonnaise 
1/2 cup sour cream 
1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus more as needed 
1 tsp. toasted and ground cumin seeds 
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, more to taste 
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, more to taste 
2 Tbsp. olive oil 

Directions:

1. To a blender, add all ingredients except the olive oil and puree until smooth. With the blender on medium speed, open lid and drizzle in oil. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and additional lime juice. Transfer sauce to a small bowl, cover and chill until needed.

Corn Salad Side Dish

 

You can make this recipe all in the same day but since it’s for a party you can get a few of the steps done the day before like cooking and cutting the corn and cutting the bell pepper and red onion. You can also premake the dressing and store it in a jar in the fridge. Just keep all the ingredients separate and store covered in the fridge. I like to add 1 tsp. of lime juice to the red onion so it’s not so sharp. You can add bacon to this side dish but I like to leave it out, it’s nice to have a vegetarian option at a party.

 

Ingredients:
8 ears of corn, shucked
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
20 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
½ red onion, finely chopped
2 avocado
¼ cup feta cheese
6 basil leaves
4 slices bacon, cooked crispy and crumbled (optional)

Dressing:
1 tsp lime zest
1 clove garlic, grated
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbs. honey
1 tsp. dijon mustard
½ cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

 

Directions:

1. Heat a pan of salted water until boiling.  Add in the shucked corn on the cobb 4 at a time and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from hot water and set aside to cool. Boil other 4 cobbs and cool.

2. Once the corn is cool enough to handle, cut off the kernels and place into a large bowl.

3. Cut up the bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, and red onion.

4. Make the dressing by combining all ingredients in a small mason jar and shaking well. Taste dressing to make sure it’s not too acidic or too sweet, adjust as needed.

5. When you’re 3 hours before serving your salad, combine all of the corn and half of the bell pepper, red onion, and cherry tomatoes. I add about half of them to start to make sure the vegetable combination is balanced; you want the corn to be the star with the other vegetables as add-ons. Add half of the vinaigrette and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning. If salad is dry, add more dressing. Just be careful not to overdress it. Allow this to sit covered in the fridge to marinade.

6. When you’re ready to serve, dice up the avocado and finely dice the basil. Add avocado, basil, feta (and bacon if using). Stir gently so the avocado doesn’t get mashed. Taste the salad again for seasoning. To serve I like to add a little extra feta, basil, and bacon to the top for presentation.