Arroz con Maiz (Rice with Corn)
Difficulty 3/5 Ingredients 23 Steps 13
Ingredients
Sofrito
- 2 medium yellow onions, cut into large chunks
- 3–4 Italian frying peppers (also know as cubanelle peppers)
- 16–20 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 large bunch cilantro, washed
- 10–12 ajices dulces (sweet chili peppers)
- 10 leaves of culantro (recao), or another handful of cilantro
- 3–4 ripe plum tomatoes, seeded, cored, and cut into chunks (or roasted with skin and seeds removed)
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into large chunks (or roasted with seeds and some skin removed)
Rice
- ⅓ cup olive oil or butter
- 2 teaspoon achiote (annatto) seeds
- 1½ cup sofrito (recipe above)
- 2 tablespoons Alcaparrado (manzanilla olives, pimientos, and capers)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
- 3 teaspoons cumin seeds or ground cumin
- 1½ teaspoons coriander seeds or ground coriander
- 1 can (5 oz) Vienna sausage, sliced with liquid saved
- ¼ cup frozen, canned, or fresh corn kernels. If using fresh corn, cook and remove corn from cob ahead of time
- 3 cups medium grain rice (do not rinse)
- 2 cups broth or water
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 2 bay leaves or avocado leaves
- 1 banana leaf or plantain leaf (optional)
Steps
Sofrito
- Chop onion. Blend in blender until liquefied.
- With motor running, add remaining ingredients one at a time. Process until smooth.
- Reserve 1½ cup sofrito for rice. Refrigerate remainder up to 3 days, or freeze in ice trays up to a month.
Rice
- Heat oil and annatto seeds in small skillet over medium heat just until seeds give lively, steady sizzle. Do not overheat. Remove from heat. Stand until sizzling stops.
- Strain oil into heavy pot or Dutch oven. Stand at least 5 minutes.
- Toast cumin and coriander seeds in small skillet over low heat a few minutes, watching closely.
- Remove seeds from heat. Grind in spice grinder or coffee mill.
- Reheat annatto oil over high heat until rippling. Stir in vienna sausage. Brown. Add sofrito, alcaparrado, squash, salt, bay leaves, coriander, cumin and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes until sofrito stops boiling and sizzles.
- Stir in rice until coated with oil all over.
- Stir in wine, vienna sausage liquid and enough broth or water to cover rice by two fingers' width. Top with banana leaf (or pan lid), folded or cut to fit.
- Bring to boil. Boil without stirring until liquid level meets rice.
- Remove banana leaf. Stir rice well. Replace leaf. Reduce heat to low. Cover with lid. Cook about 20 minutes until water is absorbed and rice is tender.
- Mix in corn when rice is fully cooked. Cover. Cook 1 more minute.
Notes from the original
- You can add 5–6 leaves of orégano brujo when making the sofrito.
- Try adding 1 cup mashed cooked squash (e.g. butternut, acorn, delicata, kabocha, or honeynut) with the alcaparrado mixture.
- Try mixing 1 teaspoon ground turmeric or smoked paprika in with the rice.
Source. Adapted from “Cookbook:Arroz con Maiz (Rice with Corn)” by Wikibooks contributors, revision of 2025-11-09, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Changes. Steps rewritten into short commands. Introduction shortened. Wiki formatting removed. This adapted recipe is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.