Home Side Dish
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Over the last few months, we’ve been trying quite a few recipes from the cookbook, “Food of Portugal
” and this Arroz de Tomate – or Portuguese Tomato Rice – is now one of our go-to side dishes.
According to the cookbook’s author Jean Anderson, this recipe is a favorite all over Portugal – but best prepared in the Province of Alentejo in the South-Central part of Portugal, where plump juicy tomatoes grow red and ripe and full of flavor thanks to favorable growing conditions.
In any case, try to prepare this Portuguese Tomato Rice using the ripest, reddest fresh tomatoes you can find! It’s a dish that is super easy to prepare – and also very delicious! Diced onions and garlic are sautéed in bacon fat and the tomatoes are then added and allowed to simmer so they too pick up the wonderful, smoky bacon flavor. Finally rice and broth are added – and it all cooks together until the rice is tender.
We’ve seen some other variations of Portuguese Tomato Rice that have green bell peppers added, as well as meat such as sausage, pork or chicken. Either way – this is a versatile dish that can be enjoyed in many different ways!
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Portuguese Tomato Rice (Arroz de Tomate)
The original recipe adapted from ‘Food of Portugal’ calls for seeding the tomatoes before cooking. But – we didn’t seed the tomatoes, and the finished rice was still fantastic. However, if you prefer, you can seed your tomatoes.
Yield: 4 servings 1x
Prep: 15 minsCook: 50 minsTotal: 1 hour 5 minutes
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Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon bacon fat (use lard if you don’t have bacon fat, but we don’t recommend using vegetable shortening since it won’t add much flavor to this dish)
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 cups fresh tomatoes cored and cut into large one inch chunks (save any juice from cutting)
- 1 1/2 cups broth (we used vegetable, but chicken or beef will also work)
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a medium pot with a tight-fitting lid, melt bacon fat in the oil over medium high.
- Add onions and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add tomatoes with their juice, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add stock, bring to a boil and add rice, salt and pepper.
- Cover and after it comes to a boil, lower to a gentle simmer and cook 20 minutes covered.
- Remove from heat and fluff with fork before serving.
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Martha
Martha is part of the husband-wife team that creates A Family Feast. She loves to cook and entertain for family and friends, and she believes that serving a great meal is one of the best ways to show someone that you care. Martha is a self-taught home cook, who loves to read cookbooks and try new recipes. After a decades-long career in business and online marketing, she now runs A Family Feast full-time. Her specialties are baking, desserts, vegetables and pasta dishes.
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Updated: 1/23/23
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Marjory @ Dinner-Mom says I love making recipes like this that are popular in other areas and talking about them over dinner with the girls…such fun and this looks delish!
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- christine says
This looks like a wonderful side dish. I love playing around with rice and this looks like a new one for me.
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- Jessica (Savory Experiments) says
Beautiful photos! My family loves rice and tomatoes, so I can’t wait to try this.
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- Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
I am a huge fan of rice dishes like this and what a great one to try at some point!
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- Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
Gosh this looks good! Love that you use bacon fat for additional flavor! Seems like the perfect side dish for just about anything!
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- Marie says
I just made this and it’s delicious. I added a pack of Goya Sazon in place of plain salt. I ate way too much of it. BTW, I love your recipes 😉 One of my favorites.
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- Martha says
Thank you so much Marie! We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe – and your version with the Goya Sazon sounds like a great variation! Thanks for sharing!
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- Marie Little says
What I meant to say was that I love your site and that it’s one of my favorites. 🙂
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- Martha says
Thank you Marie! We’re so glad you found us!
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- Stephanie @ Back For Seconds says
This looks so flavorful! I am not a huge rice fan but this, I would eat 🙂
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- Martha says
Thanks Stephanie!
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- claire @ the realistic nutritionist says
I love this!! tomato and rice are my favorites 🙂
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- Martha says
Thanks Claire!
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- Erin @ Texanerin Baking says
I like that you didn’t seed the tomatoes. That’s one thing that I feel no desire to do ever. 😉 And great looking rice! I’ve never tried any kind of flavored rice (I’m not very adventurous) but this really does look and sound yummy. 🙂
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- Martha says
Thanks Erin! (Yes – seeding the tomatoes can be a pain!)
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- Heather // girlichef says
You had me at bacon fat! This looks like a brilliant, flavorful addition to almost any meal (or you know, I’m sure I could eat it as a meal all by itself).
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- Martha says
Thanks Heather!
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