Fiesta Bowl with Mexican Rice + Pineapple Brussels
A make-ahead, gluten-free meal that's adaptable to tastes and always a crowdpleaser! As is, it's vegetarian (actually, vegan) but add grilled chicken for the omnivores in your family.
Servings: 4 bowls
Ingredients
Mexican Rice (recipe from Test Kitchen)
- 2 large or 3-4 small tomatoes cored and quartered
- 1 onion coarsely chopped
- ⅓ cup canola or vegetable oil
- 2 cups long grain white rice rinsed
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1- 2 jalapeno peppers stemmed, seeded & minced (we have been making this with only 1 jalapeño recently and adding in extra jalapeño to individual bowls)
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 Tablespoon gluten-free tomato paste
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup fresh cilantro chopped (we often skip this too, so adapt to tastes)
- 1 jalapeño pepper stemmed and minced, include seeds (this 3rd jalapeño is OPTIONAL, depending on how spicy you want it -- we haven't been adding it lately)
Quick Simmered Black Beans (recipe from Minimalist Baker)
- 2 15- ounce can black beans
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
Pineapple Glazed Brussels Sprouts
- 12 oz pineapple juice
- 1½ - 2 teaspoons corn starch start with 1 1/2 and add more as needed
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon gluten-free tamari + a few drops more I found like this best with a scant ½ teaspoon. Start with ¼ and add more as you desire
- ¼ teaspoon brown sugar
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes you can add more if you want it spicy
- 1 carton or bag of Brussel sprouts ends cut off and halved or 1 package pre-halved brussel sprouts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil avocado oil or neutral oil of choice
- kosher salt to taste
Zesty Jicama Slaw (adapted from Test Kitchen)
- 1 jicama peeled and sliced into matchstick slices
- 1 tsp grated orange zest
- Juice from one orange approx ⅓ cup
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red onion
- 3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
- ½ tsp salt
Tomato Salsa
- 3-4 firm ripe tomatoes, cut into ⅜-inch dice (about 3 cups)
- 2 tbsp or 1 large jalapeño seeded & minced reserve seeds to add later if you want it spicy!
- ½ cup red onion finely chopped
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ½ tsp salt
- pinch ground black pepper
- 2 - 6 tsp fresh lime juice
- Granulated sugar to taste up to 1 teaspoon
Finishing touches
- Avocado cubed or mashed
- sour cream or dairy-free sour cream
- extra jalapeno slices
Instructions
Mexican Rice
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Place tomatoes and onion in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Transfer liquid to a 4 cup measuring cup and spoon off excess as needed to get to 2 cups.
- Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Drop a few grains of rice into the oil. If the grain sizzles, oil is ready. Add rice and cook, stirring frequently until rice is a light golden & translucent, about 6-8 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic & seeded jalapeño and cook, stirring constantly for about 1 minute.
- Add in tomato-onion mixture, broth, tomato paste and salt. Bring to a boil.
- Cover and transfer pot to the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, stirring once at 15 minutes. Liquid will absorb and rice will be tender.
- Remove from oven, fold in cilantro and final jalapeño (if using) to taste. Only one person in my family likes the additional jalapeño so I leave it out to be added individually.
Quick Simmered Black Beans
- Add beans including liquid to a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in spices and bring to a simmer. Let cook for 10-15 minutes, longer if you have time, stirring occasionally.
Pineapple Glazed Brussels Sprouts
- Roast the Brussels sprouts: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Gently toss Brussel Sprouts in EVOO or avocado oil, sprinkle with salt, and bake for 30 minutes, or until extra crispy. NOTE: we think this dish tastes best when the brussels sprouts are roasted to be extra crispy
- Make the glaze: Combine pineapple juice, cornstarch, tamari, brown sugar, crushed red pepper flakes in a small saucepan. Mix well to dissolve corn starch.
- Turn on heat to medium high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a a low simmer until sauce thickens (takes 15 - 20 minutes). If not thickening enough, dissolve another 1 teaspoon or corn starch with 1 teaspoon of water and add a little bit at a time). Will continue to thicken as it cools. Note: Can be made ahead -- it will thicken up, so just gently heat up and it will thin out a bit again.
- When ready to eat, place roasted Brussels in a large bowl and pour the glaze over them and gently stir to coat evenly.
Zesty Jicama Slaw
- To make the jicama slaw, combine ingredients and enjoy.
Tomato Salsa
- Place a large colander in the sink or on a plate with paper towels.
- Place tomatoes in the colander, layer with jalapeño, onion, garlic, and cilantro on top. Let drain 30 minutes.
- Shake colander to remove excess water & transfer contents of colander to a bowl. Add salt, pepper, and 2 tsp lime juice; toss to combine.
- Taste and add minced jalapeño seeds if desired, sugar, and additional lime juice to taste. The amount of lime juice and sugar will depend on the ripeness of the tomatoes so you need to taste as you add more.
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