It doesn´t matter whether the weather is warm, wet or windy a plate of “arroz” with vegetables from the garden of Spain: Murcia, makes an easy, economical dish using the king of the local ingredients, the famous Calasparra rice.
RICE WITH VEGETABLES – ARROZ CON VERDURA
You will need:
1/4 ltre olive oil – aceite.
2 tomatoes – tomates
1 pepper – pimiento
1 onion – cebolla.
400 gr. Calasparra rice – arroz.
100 gr. French beans – judías verdes.
50 gr. Peas – guisantes
100 gr. Broad beans – habas
2 carrots – zanahorias.
8 almonds – almendras.
3 artichokes – alcachofas.
2 eggs – huevos.
Salt – Sal.
Garlic – Ajo.
Parsley – Perejil.
Saffron – Azafrán.
Lemon – Limón.
Method
Cut the carrot in rounds and prepare the broad beans and peas if using fresh and then cook in boiling water for a few minutes to soften them. Prepare and cook the artichokes in water in a separate pan. Reserve.
Chop the onion, pepper and the tomatoes and fry in oil. When the onions are soft add the rice and all the vegetables except the artichokes. Mix the garlic, parsley and almonds in a pestle and mortar until you have a paste. Add to the rice. Then add a litre of vegetable cooking water and the saffron.
Cook for 18 minutes. Traditionally it is not desirable to stir the rice during this cooking period. Cut your cooked artichokes in quarters and add to the rice five minutes before the end of cooking time.
Leave the rice to rest for five minutes in the pan. Decorate with quarters of hard boiled egg and lemon.
