Serves two. First, dice the garlic and onion, and peel and cube the carrot and tomato, separately. Soak the peas in water to remove the ice and drain. You may want to peel the tomato first.

In a large, nonstick saucepan, heat 2 Tblsp of the olive oil over medium-high heat and add the onion and cubed carrot. Sautee for about five minutes, add the garlic and rice and remaining 1 Tblsp oil and stir, frying the dry rice slightly for 2-3 minutes and letting it absorb the excess oil.

Add the water and saffron, stir once and allow the water to come to a rapid boil. When it boils, add the salt, cubed tomato and frozen peas, stir, cover the pan and lower the heat to the minimum.

Let simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the water and is tender but not soggy. Stir to better mix in the colorful veggies, add salt to taste and serve hot! This dish is a meal in itself or is great with grilled fish.

OPTIONAL: The great thing about this dish is you can experiment a lot! For example, If you want a more "Mexican" and less "Spanish" look, you can omit the saffron and add another cubed tomato. If you put two tomatoes, be sure to reduce the water added to the rice by 1/2 cup. Or, add cubed celery with the carrot. You can add any kind of frozen veggies instead of or in addition to peas. For example, broccoli or chopped spinach.

Posted by Paul. Credits: Created after a wonderful trip to San Miguel and Guanajuato, trying to recreate the best mexican rice ever....with some changes!