This Spanish Red Pepper Rice with Dates and Chorizo is the epitome of a comfort food at its best, hitting all the right notes.

This Spanish Red Pepper Rice with Dates and Chorizo has a rich, satisfying taste from the red pepper sauce & chorizo, balanced by sweet bits of dates with an added crunch from green onions. It is the epitome of a comfort food at it’s best and it hits all the notes, leaving you wanting to heat more up every time you open the fridge.

Although the ingredient list appears long, there is fairly little preparation for this recipe and it comes together quickly. The majority of the ingredients get thrown into a blender. Cook the rice in a rice cooker (I like this one). Brown some meat. Chop a handful of dates. Mix it all together. Done. You can be in an out of the kitchen in about 35 minutes with something on the table you can be proud of. It’s also an easy dish to prep ahead of time, although after you read the following paragraph, you may just want to make it and then let it rest in your refrigerator.

Does this make good leftovers?

This rice dish ACTUALLY gets better the longer it sits (up to about 3 days). And there is an entire science that supports the fact that (most) left overs are better. If you’re interested in a deep dive, here is an article from Forbes explaining exactly how. This rice dish is entirely delicious from 1-3 days after it’s making. In my book, that makes this a 5 star recipe. I love something that I can make on a Sunday, pull out on a Tuesday, and it tastes even more delicious!

Can I make this with left over rice or a different type of rice?

You sure can! In fact, if your rice is just a day old, it may absorb the sauce and other ingredients even better. But I wouldn’t go much longer than day old rice though, because it will start to get too dry. You can also use a different variety of rice, but I would stick to either brown or white. Don’t use anything with a strong taste (such as wild rice) and make sure to add the extra oils when cooking.

Recipe Tips and Tricks:

• If you think you’ll be short on time, make the rice in a rice cooker earlier in the day so it’s already had time to cool and solidify. If you try to mix the sauce in the rice early, the rice will get mushy.
• It’s optional to use an egg, but in my book, it’s a mistake to leave it off. It adds so much depth and flavor. If you’re not sure about making a perfect fried egg, visit here.
• This recipe can be refined for your tastes. If you like lots of sweetness – add some extra dates. If you enjoy a little spice, up the red onion and sriracha sauce. Don’t be afraid to make it your own!
• If you are NOT a fan of Chorizo, try using a different type of ground meat. Stay away from seasoned meats (like Italian), but a hearty breakfast sausage or even high quality ground turkey would work well.
• The red pepper sauce is excellent, and could be served over eggs, roasted veggies, chicken, etc. If you like it, next time you make the recipe double the sauce and serve it over a new protein for dinner tomorrow!

If you made this recipe, please come back and let us know what you think! We love to hear your comments and feedback.

Spanish Red Pepper Rice with Dates and Chorizo

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by Stevens Haen Course: Dinner

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Red Pepper Sauce

• 1.5 Cups 1.5 Red Pepper, roughly chopped (about 1.5 Large Red Peppers)

• 1/4 Large 1/4 Red Onion, roughly chopped

• 1 Clove 1 Garlic

• 1/2 Tbsp 1/2 Fresh Ginger

• 1/4 Cups 1/4 Olive Oil

• 1/4 Cups 1/4 Water

• 1 Tbsp 1 Sweet Paprika

• 1 tsp 1 Coriander

• 1 tsp 1 Allspice

• 1 Tbsp 1 Granulated White Sugar

• 2 Tbsp 2 Lemon Juice

• 1 tsp 1 Course Salt

• Rice

• 3 Tbsp 3 Canola Oil

• 1.5 Cups 1.5 Long Grain White Rice

• 2 tsp 2 Sea Salt

• 3 Cups 3 Water

• 1 Cups 1 Chopped Medjorie Dates

• 1 Pound 1 Chorizo

• 1 Bunch 1 Green Onions

• Optional Toppings

• Goat Cheese Crumbles

• Fried Egg

• Sliced Almonds

• Sriracha or hot sauce

Directions

• Cook rice according to package directions on stove or in rice cooker, adding the oil and salt. Once the rice is done, let it sit for at least 20 minutes.
• While rice is cooking, place chorizo in a large frying pan and brown it at medium heat. Keep the meat spaced out and try not to continuously stir the meat, as you want it to get browned. Once meat is cooked through, roughly 7-8 minutes, crumble with a spoon and set fry pan aside.
• Place all of the ingredients from the red pepper sauce and place them in the blender. Blend on high speed until smooth. Reserve 1/4 cup of sauce for garnish.
• Slice off the top 2 inches of the green onions and discard. Slice down until you reach the white. Set aside.
• Once the rice has set, add it to a large mixing bowl. Add in red pepper sauce from blender, chorizo, green onions and chopped dates. Mix the rice mixture thoroughly. Garnish the rice with additional goat cheese, sliced almonds, fried egg, sriracha and extra red pepper sauce.

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