Casseroles are favourites for holiday season or family gatherings. This time I bring you recipe of a casserole with a Spanish touch to it. Anytime you make something Spanish, salsa and cheese goes without saying. Let us get started for delicious dinner.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups uncooked rice
- 7 cups water
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper cut into small cubes
- 1 tsp green chilli or raw jalapeno finely chopped
- 2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup tomatoes finely chopped
- 1 tsp red chilli sauce (unsweetened)
- 1/2 cup sliced pickled jalapeno
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives and green olives
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup lettuce shreds
- 1 cup tortilla chips
- 6 Roma tomatoes
- 3 green chillies
- Salt to taste
- 4 tsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Cup of thin slices of avocado.
Preparation:
- Wash Rice and Soak in water. Use the pan that you will use to cook the rice
- Soak for at least 30 minutes.
- In a chopper add 6 tomatoes, 3 green chilli, salt to taste, 1 tsp Italian seasoning and 1/2 cup cilantro leaves.
- Chop on high speed until you see coarse paste. Your salsa is ready.(you can add 1 small onion in the chopper)
- Put the pan with rice on stove and turn on the heat. Add 1/2 tsp salt.
- When water starts boiling, add 1 tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp olive oil.
- Boil until the rice is almost cooked and transfer into drainer.
- Drain all the water. Pour 2 glass of ice cold water over the boiled rice in the drainer. This step is to make sure that rice doesn't stick to each other.
- Now let it cool completely.
- In a pan add 2 tsp of olive oil and heat it.
- Add chopped chillies, bell pepper, tomato and onion (optional). Bring it to sizzle.
- Add 1/2 tsp salt, chilli sauce and 1tsp Italian seasoning.
- Let it sizzle for 2 more minutes and now add rice and turn off the heat.
- Mix it well in the pan.
- Now turn on the heat and let it heat for a minute.
- Stir it once and turn of the heat. Do not stir it too much since cooked rice is easy to break.
- Your first layer of Rice is ready.
- Grease the baking pan.
- Transfer the rice to the baking pan.
- Sprinkle 1/4th of both the cheese spread evenly.
- On the top of cheese layer, spread salsa evenly.
- Now is the turn for layer of jalapenos and olive slices.
- Now top it with rest of the cheese and make a thick layer.
- Microwave it for 4 minutes until the cheese is melted completely.
- Take it out and layer it with avocado, (if available) lettuce shreds and thin tortilla chips.
- Casserole is ready to serve.