Arroz de Tomate is a Portuguese risotto like dish made with short grain rice, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, veg stock, white wine, and fresh herbs. Like many Portuguese rice dishes, it’s super simple to prepare, yet it’s packed with flavour and the perfect summer side dish. It’s usually served with Cod Fritters or Fried Green Beans, but it’s absolutely delicious on its own. Keep reading to learn how to make this authentic Portuguese tomato rice.
An Authentic Portuguese Tomato Rice
Traditionally this Portuguese Tomato Rice is made with Carolino rice, a Portuguese variety of short grain rice which is perfect for creamier dishes. If you are outside of Portugal a good alternative is the Italian Arborio rice.
Apart from the short grain rice, you will also need very ripe plum tomatoes, red pepper, onions, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, white wine, vegetable stock, a bay leaf, and fresh parsley. The goal is to make a rustic tomato sauce that you will combine with vegetable stock to cook your rice in. I prefer using homemade stock, let me know if you want the recipe!
To achieve what the Portuguese call ‘arroz malandrinho’ which is a more brothy rice, I use 4 parts stock to 1 part rice. It’s simply delicious, packed with Mediterranean flavours, vegetarian friendly, and my go to summer comfort food.
Arroz de Tomate Malandrinho Recipe
Place a large pan over medium heat. Once hot, add the olive oil, diced onions, and peppers. Fry for a couple of minutes until they soften, push them to one side of the pan, add in your garlic and chili, fry for another two minutes.
Remove the seeds of the tomatoes, dice them, add it to the onion and pepper base. Cook for another 5 minutes or until they start to release liquid.
Add in your tomato concentrate, the bay leaf, and a couple of sprigs of thyme and rosemary, stir well to combine.
Add in the Carolino rice, let it cook for about 2 minutes before deglazing with the white wine. Use a wooden spoon to gently scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir. Cover with the hot vegetable broth, season with salt and pepper, give it a good stir.
Bring it to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cook undisturbed for about 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked but still a little firm on the inside. Add a little more broth or water if it reduces too much. Serve with lots of chopped fresh parsley. Enjoy!
How to Make Portuguese Tomato Rice
Portuguese Tomato Rice – How to Make Arroz de Tomate
6
servings10
minutes45
minutes279
kcalArroz de Tomate is a risotto like dish made with short grain rice, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, veg stock, white wine, and fresh herbs.
Ingredients
1 1 Large Onion – diced
30 ml 30 Olive Oil
1/2 1/2 Red Pepper – diced
4 4 Garlic Cloves – roughly chopped
1 1 Small Red Chilli – roughly chopped
5 5 Plum Tomatoes – seeds removed, diced
30 g 30 Tomato Concentrate
300 g 300 Short Grain Rice
100 ml 100 White Wine
1.3 l 1.3 Vegetable Stock
Fresh Parsley
Directions
- Start by placing a large pan over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add in the extra virgin olive oil, and the diced onions and red pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or until soften. Push them to one side of the pan, add in your chopped garlic and red chili, cook for 2 minutes.
- In the meantime, dice the tomatoes discarding the seeds. Add them to your onion and pepper base. Cook for another 5 minutes stirring every now and then.
- Stir in the tomato concentrate, the bay leaf, and a couple of sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme.
- Add in the Carolino rice, cook for 2 minutes. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, using a wooden spoon to gently scrape the bottom of the pan. Cover with the vegetable broth, season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat. Cook undisturbed for 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked but still lightly firm on the inside. Add a little more broth or water if needed. Serve with lots of chopped fresh parsley.
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know in the comments!