Mexican rice with Chorizo sausage in cream

By winefoot

Ingredients

• 1 large jalapeno
• 3-3 smaller chili peppers
• 1/2 Red Bell pepper – diced
• 1/2 Green Bell Pepper diced
• 1/2 Cup diced carrots
• 1/2 Cup diced onion
• 1 Can Petite Diced tomatoes with green chilies
• Saffron
• Canola or Vegetable Canola oil blend
• 2 ripe avocados
• Sour Cream
• Wheat tortillas
• Cilantro
• Olive oil
• Small jar green chilies
• 1 pd Chorizo sausage
• 1/2 sweet onion diced and divided
• I jar Creama
• 1/2 pound Queso Cheese
• 1 Cup plus shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Preparation

Step 1

In a small prep bowl, add a pinch of saffron threads to about ½ cup of very warm water. You want the water to become a deep, golden yellow that will die the rice yellow.

Rub your Jalapeno and Chili with oil and place in the TFal Actifry. Wash your hands well afterwards. Putting the chilies in the Actifry serves two purposes:  to roast the Jalapeño and flavor Actifry for the chicken tenders.

You can also add some of your diced peppers and onions to the TFAL, drizzle with oil, to increase the flavors.

Let the chilies roast until the skin becomes translucent  and the skin on the Jalapeño begins to blister. Do not clean the TFal once the peppers are finished – about 8-12 minutes.  Set the peppers and diced vegetable to the side to cool being careful not to get the juice from the chilies in your eyes.

Warm the TFal pan on the stove until the center temperature indicator is deep red, and drizzle ½ teaspoon of oil, adding the diced red and green peppers, onions and diced carrots.  The carrots add color, while also sweetening the dish.

Sprinkle generously with coarse sea salt.  I hold off the final seasoning until the rice if fully cooked; however, you can add fresh garlic, cilantro or parsley to the dish as well.

Once tender, onions slightly translucent, add 1/3 can of tomatoes (taste the diced tomatoes for “heat” or use plain tomatoes, or fresh diced, and add chilies to taste).  If not too “hot” you can always add more.

Once the tomatoes are warmed, add your rice and fold using a rubber spatula until well mixed.

Pour the saffron water over the rice and mix well. Heat very well.  The rice should become the yellow of the saffron.  Season to taste.  You can increase the “heat” by adding more chilies; it will also take salt, pepper, taco seasoning, garlic, chopped cilantro to your taste.

Transfer the rice to a serving dish and keep warm.

In the TFal add 6-8 chicken tenders, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with seasonings.  I used Ortega taco seasoning to add those flavors, but there are a variety of fajita style seasoning mixes on the market.

Cook in the TFal for 8-10 minutes, until the tenders are mostly white, turn over and add more seasoning mix.

Set to cook for another 5 minutes, but check frequently.  You do not want to overcook as the TFal uses hot air to cook, and can dry out meets.  Watch the meat until it is “almost done”, still very moist.

Then let it finish in the hot TFal while you cook the Chorizo sausage.

In the same pan you sautéed the peppers, onion and tomatoes (do not clean between items) start frying the Chorizo sausage, adding onions once the sausages release some of their fat and liquids. With the TFal pan you do not need to add additional fats, beyond an occasional drizzle of oil, to cook most items.

Cook the sausage well.  When finished, removed from the pan and set to cool.  If the onions have turned dark remove them as you don’t want dark bits in your creama cheese sauce., b You want to keep the flavors from the items you have previously cooked.

Add ½ c of finely diced onions to the pan and cook until translucent. Once the Chorizo is cool enough to handle, slice into pieces.

Let the pan with onions cool until your center is once again bright red indicating the pan is cool and pour in your Crema (available in any Latin market and may be found in regular grocers) and turn the heat on medium.

You do not want the creama to “boil,” only bubble a little around the edges. Add the crumbled Queso cheese (3/4-1 cup of cheese) and the Monterey Jack cheese.

The Queso does not fully melt, giving the cream texture.  Cook gently until the Monterey Jack cheese is melted and the cream is thick, and silken in texture.

Add the Chorizo and warm thoroughly.

Being very careful to not get seeds or juice from the Jalapeño in cuts, or your eyes, pull the blistered skin off, rinse and then slice in half-length wise.  Remove the seeds, rinse and slice into pieces.  Be careful to not get jalapeño in your eyes or cuts.

Place the chicken over the rice, alternating with slices of avocado.  Top with sour cream, pieces of the roasted jalapeño and cilantro oil drizzle (soak finely chopped cilantro in olive oil, add a pinch of sugar and some heat – chopped chilies, or juice).

Using wheat tortilla, spoon some of the creama cheese sauce and sausage, garnish (avocado, cilantro, onion, shredded cheese) ,and roll, folding the bottom shut so the cream does not drip.