Rice toasted in oil with onion, garlic, carrot and bell pepper, then cooked in broth with peas and sweet corn stirred through. It is the rice that turns a plain lunch into a full one.
Sweet corn, not cornstarch
The fourth instruction on this page used to say to add the peas and cornstarch. The ingredient list says 150 grams of sweet corn.
The two are different products that happen to share a root in Spanish, where cornstarch is maicena and comes from maíz. Following the instruction literally means stirring starch into a pot of rice, which produces something gluey and inedible.
What goes in is corn kernels, at the same time as the peas, ten minutes before the end.
Pearling the rice
Before any liquid arrives, the rice goes into the hot oil with the vegetables and gets stirred for a minute or two until every grain is coated and glossy.
Spanish has a verb for this, nacarar, from nácar, mother of pearl, because the grain changes appearance as it happens: chalky white becomes slightly translucent with a pearly sheen. English has no single word for it, which is how the old translation ended up simply saying pearl.
The film of fat around each grain is what keeps the rice from clumping, and the brief toasting adds a flavour you cannot get by any other route.
The vegetables in two stages
Carrot and bell pepper go in early, with the onion and garlic, and cook for five minutes before the rice. They are firm and they need the time.
Peas and sweet corn go in near the end, with ten minutes left, because both are essentially already cooked and long boiling turns peas grey and corn tough.
Getting the liquid right
Three cups of liquid for 300 grams of rice is the working ratio, and it is what this recipe now calls for. Two cups, which is what it used to say, is not enough for that much grain: the rice stays hard in the middle and the pot catches.
Taste a grain rather than trusting the clock, since pots and lids differ. Firm in the middle with a dry pot means a splash more hot broth and five more covered minutes.
More rice
- Colombian white rice — the plain everyday one.
- Rice with carrot — a simpler version of the same idea.
- Rice with chorizo — the meaty one.
- Coconut rice — from the coast.
Spring Rice FAQ
No, and the instruction that said so was wrong. What goes in with the peas is the 150 grams of sweet corn from the ingredient list. Cornstarch would turn the pot gluey and has no business in a rice dish.
To stir it in hot oil until each grain is coated and turns from chalky white to slightly translucent. The Spanish verb is nacarar and it takes a minute or two. It keeps the grains separate and adds a faint toasted flavour.
Three cups. Rice takes about twice its own volume in liquid and 300 grams is a good cup and a half. The recipe used to call for two cups, which leaves the grain hard in the middle and the bottom of the pot stuck. Judge it by the grain all the same.
Either. Frozen peas and corn go in at the same point and need no thawing. Fresh peas want a few minutes more, so add them slightly earlier.
A fresh red bell pepper, cut into cubes. The Spanish was pimentón, which in Colombia means the vegetable rather than the ground spice, and the old ingredient list had it as paprika.
Anything, which is the point. It is a side rice substantial enough to carry a plain piece of meat or chicken, and it is what turns a thin lunch into a full one.
📖 Recipe
Arroz Primavera (Colombian Spring Rice with Vegetables)
Imprimir Pin ComentarIngredients
- 300 g rice
- 3 tablespoons oil
- ½ onion (finely chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 2 carrots (diced)
- ½ red bell pepper (pimentón: the fresh vegetable, not paprika powder, cubed)
- 3 cups water or chicken broth
- 150 g peas
- 150 g sweet corn
- Salt (to taste)
Notas
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot, add the onion and cook until it turns translucent. Add the garlic, the carrot and the bell pepper and cook for five minutes more.
- Add the rice and stir it through the oil until every grain is coated and glossy, which takes a minute or two.
- Pour in the 3 cups of water or broth and bring it to a boil, then lower the heat.
- Add the peas and the sweet corn, cook for ten minutes more, stir and serve.
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