Arroz con costra (arròs amb costra) is considered the most ancient recipe of rice from Spain. This recipe appeared in 1490 at the book 'Lybre de doctrina per ben servir, de tallar y el art de coch' from Ruperto Nola ,the cook of the king of Naples, this book was so successful that it was translated into spanish some years later.
This rice is typical from Elche and the regions of Vega Baja, Bajo Vinalopó.
This is a strong dish, with chicken, rabbit, sausages, rice and chickpeas.
The costra is made from a layer of beaten eggs over the rice cooked in oven , it provides the rice with softeness and a special taste.
Dependig on the region the ingredients vary a little, the recipe I bring today is the variety from Elche.
It is better and traditional if you use a clay cooking pot.
Ingredients:
- A clay pot (I used one with 30 cm of diameter).
- 4 or 5 ripe tomatos.
- 6 or 7 litle white sausages.
- Red sausige.
- 1/2 blanquet (or white butifarra).
- 1/2 black butifarra.
- 5 or 6 tablespoons of cooked chickpeas.
- 250 grams of chicken meat in little pieces and without the skin.
- 250 grams of rabbit meat in little pieces and without the skin.
- 2 and a half cups of rice.
- Some saffron threads.
- 2 eggs per person plus one additional egg.
- Salt.
- Sugar.
Method:
1- Put the tomatoes, oil, salt and sugar in a frying pan. Put the fire on a low heat and cook until the tomatoes are soft and the meat is clearly separated from the meat.
Pass the tomato through a ricer to gt rid of the skin and seeds.
2- Cut into slices black and white butifarras.
3- Put some oil in a large clay cooking pot, fry at medium heat the white butifarra 1 minute by every side, put aside.
4 - Fry at medium heat the black butifarra 1 minute by every side, put aside.
5- Cut white sausages in little pieces , add some salt and fry with the same oil until the meat is done.
Put aside.
6 - Cut red sausage in litle pieces, add salt and fry until the meat is done.
Put aside.
7 - Add salt to the chicken and rabbit, and fry until the meat is done.
8 - Add the tomato you made at step 1, add chickpeas and safron threads. Cook at medium heat for 2 or 3 minutes.
9 - Add water until de chicken and rabbit are covered, bear in mind that the quantity of rice that you will add later should be half of the quantity of water that you are adding now, cook at medium heat for half an hour.
10 - Add the rice, put on a high heat, once it reaches boiling point , put on a low heat and add all the sausages well spread all over the surface. Cook 12-13 minutes until there is no water and the rice is well done.
11- Meanwhile add salt to the eggs , beat them. Preheat oven at 220 ºC heat over and below.
12- Once the rice is done, add the eggs over the rice. Put the pot inside the oven at the same temperature for some minutes until you see the 'costra' , it is the eggs are done.
Where to buy the ingredients:
The white and black sausages can be bought at the butcher shop.
The blanquet, white and black butifarra from Alicante you can buy them in Madrid at Mantequería La Gloria , plaza Prosperidad 5.
You can also use catalan butifarra , maybe it is easier to find out of Cataluña, in Madrid I found it at La Garriga, en Serrano 93 http://www.lagarrigacharcuteria.com/
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