Rice Rice and Chorizo with Black Beans

I have another good news! I just received a letter from USCIS, which calls for an interview scheduled on May 6th. After the interview, I would expect to receive the temp. green card soon and I could FLY BACK TO TAIWAN to visit!!!!! I really hope the interview will go well so that I can plan for the visit to Taiwan. Ah, how exciting! My brain couldn't calm down for a while after receiving the notice.

I wish I could be as professional as Miriam when it comes to taking pictures:( Although it looks a bit sloppy, it tastes good! Actually, I'm not much a bean person but I'm learning to love it now. Every time when I order a burrito, I would ask for more rice and less beans and that's typical of me. This dish has plenty rice for me and some beans for decoration (ha) so I still love it!

The original recipe is Rachel Ray's Smoky Red Rice and Chorizo with Black Beans from her Everyday with Rachel Ray magazine. After I modified it, it's not SMOKY anymore. The reason is that I took off some special ingredients which make it taste smoky, such us smoked paprika, fire-roasted smoked tomatoes, and so on. It still tastes good though. Let's see my version of it:

The ingredients (serves 4)

1 (3/4) cups chicken broth

1 tablespoon EVOO (hint: olive oil)

1 cup rice (uncooked)

2 roasted red peppers (Roast fresh bell peppers in the oven, roaster oven, or on the grill. After the pepper is charred, soak it in cold water right away and peel the skin off.) 

a handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped)

1 teaspoon paprika

1  3/4- to 1-pound package Spanish Chorizo (sliced) (I used Mexican Chorizo since I couldn't find the Spanish one in Walmart.)

2 serrano chiles (seeded and chopped) (It's pretty spicy if you use two of them; adjust accordingly) 

1 small onion (chopped)

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes

1 15-oz. can black beans

salt & pepper

The rice part: (I just cook the rice in my rice cooker; the original requires you to cook it on the stove.)

1. Make the rice in the rice cooker along with the chicken broth, EVOO, puree red bell peppers, flat-leaf parsley, and paprika.

The sausage mix

2. Meanwhile, cook the chorizo until crisp. Add the chiles, onion and garlic and cook until tender. Stir in the tomatoes and beans; season with salt and pepper.

Serve the rice in shallow bowls topped with the beans & chorizo.

Yu ting's trick: I squeeze some fresh lemon juice onto my dish and it brightens the flavor! You can also use cilantro to substitute for parsley. 

The bell pepper really adds flavor to the rice. It's pretty easy to make. If you're too lazy to roast the pepper and puree it, just get a jar of roasted bell pepper and that would save you time!