This is the dinner you reach for on a Tuesday when you have ground beef, no ambition, and the specific desire to wash exactly one pan. Everything cooks together — the rice absorbs the beef fat, the tomato paste caramelizes, and thirty-five minutes later you have something that tastes like it had more thought put into it.
What You Need
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
How to Make It
- 1
Brown the ground beef in a dry wide skillet over medium-high, breaking it up, until it's got real color. Push the beef to one side. Add onion to the clear side and cook in the rendered fat for 4 minutes until soft.
- 2
Stir in tomato paste and cook 60 seconds — you want it to darken and smell sweet. This builds flavor that raw paste doesn't have.
- 3
Add rice and stir to coat. Pour in broth. Season with salt. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to the lowest simmer. Cook 18 minutes without lifting the lid.
- 4
Kill the heat and let it sit covered for 5 more minutes. Fluff with a fork. Top with cheese or hot sauce if you have them.
