Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons annatto oil, recipe follows
1 Scotch bonnet chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium Spanish onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 small bay leaves, broken in 1/2
1 cup long-grain white rice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken stock, warmed
Melt
the butter with the annatto oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high
heat. Add the Scotch bonnet and garlic, stir, and cook for 15 seconds.
Add the onion, carrot, celery, and bay leaves and stir well. Allow the
vegetables to cook, stirring frequently, until well-glazed, about 10
minutes.
Stir
in the rice, salt and pepper. Add the chicken stock, stir once and
bring to a simmer, the immediately turn the heat down to very low.
Cover and cook until the rice has absorbed the stock, 12 to 15 minutes.
Cover and let stand for 5 minutes, then serve.
Annatto
Oil:
1/2
cup annatto seeds
The ochre hue characteristic of so many dishes of the Caribbean and
Latin America comes from annatto. Annatto seeds, also known as achiote,
deliver a mildly pungent flavor, but not a spicy one. Use this infused
oil when cooking rice, or brush it on chicken or fish before you put
them on the grill.
2 cups pure olive oil
Toast the annatto seeds in a heavy saucepan until they just start to smoke. Add the olive oil. When the oil begins to simmer, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Strain the oil and store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place for several months.
