By January 2037. Fifty years old this July. I was thinking about it already, not anxiously but with the attention a significant number warrants. I called my mother in Muskogee and we talked for an hour—longer than usual. She was seventy-two and well. We talked about Danny, which we did with increasing frequency since his death, as if the distance made his shape more visible. She said: he always thought you were going to be the one who remembered. I said: he never said that to me. She said: he told me—not in those words, but he said you had something he wanted to put somewhere that would hold it. I said: what did you think that meant? She said: I think it meant this. Everything.
Made the Hoppin' John on New Year's Day—the luck and the rice and the greens. Caleb and River came. Tommy was carried in by Kai and ate a soft bean from my hand and said what sounded clearly like bean. Kai said it was the vowel sound he was practicing. River said: definitely bean. We agreed it was bean. The record shows: Tommy said bean January first 2037. I wrote it down immediately.
The Hoppin’ John was already made, the luck already stirred in, by the time Tommy said bean—and that word, small as it was, felt like it needed a meal around it to match. In the days after, I kept wanting to cook something that had that same quality: humble, filling, a little smoky, something you could eat in a bowl at a table with people you love. Spanish rice with ground beef is exactly that—it’s the kind of dish Danny would have asked for seconds of, the kind my mother would have recognized, the kind that holds an ordinary Tuesday the way New Year’s Day held all of us.
Spanish Rice with Ground Beef
Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 30 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 1 cup long-grain white rice, uncooked
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
- 1 3/4 cups beef broth
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Fresh cilantro or parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Brown the beef. Heat olive oil in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat and set the beef aside.
- Soften the vegetables. In the same skillet over medium heat, add the diced onion and green bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more until fragrant.
- Toast the rice. Add the uncooked rice to the skillet with the vegetables. Stir and cook for 2 minutes, letting the rice toast lightly in the pan drippings.
- Combine and season. Return the browned beef to the skillet. Stir in the diced tomatoes (with their liquid), tomato sauce, beef broth, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Stir everything together until combined.
- Simmer covered. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover tightly and simmer for 20–22 minutes, until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Check once at the 15-minute mark and add a splash of broth if the pan looks dry.
- Rest and fluff. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. Fluff gently with a fork, taste for seasoning, and adjust salt as needed.
- Serve. Spoon into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro or parsley if desired. Serve hot.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 360 | Protein: 22g | Fat: 14g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 620mg