Catfish Out of Water

I made Brown Rice w/ Ambercup Squash & Red Chilis the other day. It was one of those recipes that was absolutely delicious and a game changer for my seasonal rice recipes! I tend to do this. I tend to make different types of rice, quinoa, and lentils depending on the season. We're absolutely getting into the end of summer and the beginning of fall. Which means that peppers are ripening in the garden! And I am in full on pepper mode. Last week it was red chilis and this week it's Anaheim peppers. Both have very similar flavor profiles with a hefty dose of calabaza squash! Although this variation is much milder and doesn't have quite the kick as the red chilis. Both because these are what are ripening at the moment and because I'm planning on making some spicier dishes to pair the rice with.

All in all, this is one of my favorite rice dishes of the season. It's a great thing to have on hand and utilize throughout the week in a plethora of different dishes. It can be almost intimidating to cook with brown rice because it's oftentimes cooked poorly. And I absolutely for years struggled with making it even remotely palatable. But I've made an art out of cooking brown rice! The key is adding an abundance of softening ingredients, like squash, and playing up the heartier flavor with bold ingredients, like fresh peppers.

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Variations of Calabaza Squash Rice

There are plenty of other types of squash out there. I'm personally slightly biased towards calabaza, but I know that it's not always available! You can easily substitute other types of squash in this recipe and just adjust the spices to taste. I also have a plethora of recipes with butternut squash, pumpkin, ambercup squash, and a number of other fresh peppers and other produce.

Brown Rice w/ Calabaza Squash & Anaheim Peppers

This squash rice combines brown rice with calabaza squash, garlic, red onions, and homegrown Anaheim peppers with a dash of cumin. It's a great quick and easy recipe to throw together. And absolutely far more delicious than your typical rice dish. With a hefty dose of squash purée and Anaheims, which can easily be substituted for whatever squash and peppers that you have on hand or to your own personal tastes and preferences.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Resting Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Latin American

Servings 4 cups

Equipment

• Rice Cooker

Ingredients

  

• 1/2 c. calabaza squash roasted & puréed
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 red onion diced
• 2 Anaheim peppers diced
• dash cumin
• dash salt
• dash pepper
• 1 c. brown rice
• 2 ½ c. water (or vegetable broth)

Instructions

 

Prepare Ingredients

• I used Roasted Calabaza Squash in this recipe. This takes a couple of hours and requires a calabaza (or other squash or pumpkin of choice) as well as aluminum foil and a baking dish.

Cook Rice

• Add all of the ingredients into a rice cooker. I like to start with the larger vegetables and then add the smaller ingredients. Top with the bay leaves, spices, and lime juice. Then, add the rice, vegetable broth, and water.

  This cooks the larger vegetables on the bottom, while dispersing the flavor profiles in the middle. Although with some mixing, this really doesn't matter all that much. Everything will eventually cook together!
• Press the cook button on the rice cooker. It should take about 45 minutes to cook.

  Alternatively you can simmer on the stove. Add all of the ingredients to a pot, bring uncovered to a boil, lower heat to a simmer, and cook covered for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet squash and rice are tender. Turn off heat, add lid, and let sit another 5-10 minutes.
• When the rice is fully cooked, let sit for 10 minutes, and then fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.

  Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom!

Tips, Tricks, & Notes

• For tips and tricks on The Fundamentals of Cooking Rice, particularly brown rice, check out my article on the matter.