Spanish Rice

A variation on a dish made by my mother and grandmother.

Nothing fancy, but easy to throw together, and can be nibbled on out of the refrigerator for several days, and the leftovers freeze well.

Ingredients
3 pounds of ground beef
2 large onions
4 garlic cloves
1 can of crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
1 can of whole, peeled tomatoes, 28 oz
2 cups of brown rice
2 pounds frozen peas
5 blackened, peeled, de-seeded jalapeños
beef stock, natural, concentrated, to taste
salt and pepper to taste


Assembly
1. Cook the rice with a ratio of 1 part rice to 2 parts water (or canned beef stock.)  I like to keep everything boiling pretty vigorously until most of the free water is gone from the pan.  Then, I cover the pan, turn off the heat, and read a book for the next 45 minutes.
2. Slowly cook the ground beef in a large skillet or saucepan.  We're cooking, but not doing a lot of browning.  Remove the cooked beef with a slotted spoon or equivalent to a large (8-10 quart) roasting pan.  Retain the beef liquid (stock + grease)
3. Use the retained liquid to cook the diced onions and garlic.  (Note: After cooking the onions and garlic, I usually stick the remaining liquid in a small surface area pan, and deposit it in the freezer for 20 minutes or so.  After the grease film forms at the surface, I pour the remaining liquid -- a water-based stock from the hamburger + some released liquid from the onion cooking process -- into the large roasting pan.

4. Blacken, peel, and de-seed the jalapeños.  Then dice or cut into strips.  For a little more of a bite, throw in some seeds.

5. For a richer flavor, add some concentrated, natural beef stock.  If you must use store-bought, canned beef stock, concentrate it a bit before use.  When you buy the stock, please check out the contents.  As you concentrate, the additives will concentrate as well.  Some canned beef stock contains an incredible amount of sodium, in the form of salt.
6. Throw everything together into the large roasting pan.  Mix well.
7. Brown the top of the casserole with the pan uncovered under the broiler element for several minutes.  Don't mix further after browning.
8. Cover the roasting pan, turn the oven setting to 'BAKE' and reduce the heat to 375-400, and cook for an hour or so.


Wine serving options
This dish can be a bit spicy, particularly if you've added supplemental jalapeño seeds or some extra peppers.

Selection #1 - Modelo Especial en lata, no botella
Selection #2 - Spanish garnacha, como Bodegas Borsao Campo de Borja Tres Picos
Selection #3 - Italian tempranillo, like Finca Allende Rioja Calvario  (oolala)