Arroz Verde With Spiced Mushrooms

A spicy herb sauce can transform a perfectly fine dish into something really special. Here a quick cilantro and jalapeño blender sauce makes its way into the recipe at three points: first, flavoring the aromatic base at the start of rice cooking; next, carefully mixed into the rice at the end of cooking to amp up the verdant hue; and finally, stirred into the creamy drizzle sauce to be served alongside. Inspired by irresistible pollo a la brasa, Peruvian rotisserie chicken, this dish uses oyster mushrooms spiced with cumin and paprika as a meaty vegetarian swap. Jasmine rice lends its beautiful fragrance here, but any long white variety will do. The important step is to make sure to rinse whatever rice you use at least a few times to encourage a fluffy, not clumpy, result.