Brown Rice w/ Squash & Habaneros

This is hands down my favorite rice recipe of all time. It's perfectly balanced. It has sweetness from the butter squash, spiciness from the habanero peppers, and heartiness from the brown rice. With a little bit of olive oil and lime, this squash brown rice recipe is both a delicious and incredibly filling.

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Resting Time 10

Total Time 1 10

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Latin American

Servings 4 cups

Equipment

Potato Peeler
Rice Cooker

Ingredients

1 ½ c. butternut squash peeled, cubed
~20 cherry tomatoes quartered
1/4 red onion minced
3 cloves garlic minced
2 habaneros minced
1 lime juiced
3 bay leaves
1 tsp. cumin
dash salt
dash pepper
2 tsp. olive oil
1 c. brown rice
3 c. water (or vegetable broth)

Instructions

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, lime juice, and olive oil. And then add the rice 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. Rice is surprisingly more difficult to cook in a rice cooker than the name would suggest and there are a multitude of simple solutions for common problems, like overcooking and becoming mushy or drying out. There are also some solutions for remedying these issues after the fact, instead of starting over!