Cilantro Rice

 Chicken with Cilantro rice,
the beginning of an  Enchilada 

This is a Peruvian dish. My lovely and adventurous wife went to Peru to complete a nutrition analysis and one of the local families she was working with gave her this recipe. Its a very simple dish--cilantro is blended into a paste, water and cumin powder are added and the whole thing is cooked in a pot or in your rice cooker. 

It's delicious! This dish works really well when paired with a mole. It also works great as a filler for fajitas, enchiladas or tomales. 

Ingredients

1 cup of uncooked white rice

1 bunch fresh cilantro (stems removed if you want to be fancy)

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup Homemade Chicken Stock

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon minced garlic (optional)

Wash the rice and add to the rice cooker. 

Blend the water and cilantro in a food processor, it should turn into a green liquid. Add to the rice cooker. 

Add the chicken stock, cumin and minced garlic to the rice cooker. Give it a good stir and follow the directions for cooking rice in the rice cooker. 

If you don't have a rice cooker, pour the blended cilantro water, chicken stock, cumin and minced garlic into a saucepan. Add the rice and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Give it a good stir every now and then to make sure the rice is not sticking to the pan. 

The rice should come out cooked and green!