Baked crusted rice

How to make rice with crust or arròs amb crosta.

When talking about rice and gastronomy, we have no doubt that it is in the Spanish Levante area where the best exponents are.

Today we bring you a traditional recipe from some Alicante regions, rice with crust or arròs amb crosta . It is a very traditional recipe in Elche and other towns in the Vega Baja. It is slightly reminiscent of baked rice that I have tried in Valencia.

Using the sausages of the area, sausages, white and botifarrón, a forceful and tasty rice is created with a peculiarity in its elaboration that sets it apart from others. As a final part of its preparation it is covered with an egg that ends curdling creating a spongy crust .

Although traditionally you can use a rib to curdle the eggs, a kind of cover that helps transmit heat, at home we will use the oven in the final section of the production of this rice to create its crust.

A rice of the most traditional that you can find in Spain, just as it used to be. We are not playing for rice, we have trusted La Fallera pump rice that gives us such good results in this and other recipes.

Despite the amount of fatty meats that we include in this dish, the contribution does not look excessive and the flavor is delicious. It is one more sample of recipes with tradition that survive the passage of time like the first day.

Preparation of crusted rice

1. We cut the sausage (red and white sausage, botifarrón and blanquet) into bite-size pieces.
2. We brown them in a saucepan with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Cook for 7 minutes over medium heat and reserve.
3. In the same casserole we incorporate the chopped chicken. We cook it for 10 minutes on all sides. It could also be done with rabbit, replacing chicken.
4. Add the crushed tomato and continue cooking for 5 more minutes.
5. We add the sausage that we have reserved. We also add the cooked chickpeas and integrate well.
6. Pour the rice in the casserole and fry it, with the rest of the ingredients, for 2 minutes before covering it with the broth, a generous pinch of salt (remember that the sausage is salty, do not overdo it) and the saffron.
7. It is necessary that the broth is hot at the time of incorporating it. We cook the rice over medium heat for 10 minutes, it should be a little syrupy, even with a little more broth.

Baking crusted rice

1. We beat the eggs well, they froth a little. Optionally you can add a touch of lemon zest and nutmeg, but it goes to the taste of each house.
2. Spread the rice with the beaten eggs, salt and sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley.
3. With the oven previously heated to 220º C we introduce the casserole and bake the rice for 10 more minutes. You will see how the egg rises and a golden crust forms.
4. We remove the casserole from the oven and serve.

Here you have a step by step in photos where I show how to prepare this recipe for crusted rice . Do not miss any detail so that they come out almost as if you were from Elche.

Tips for a yummy crusted rice

• We have brought most of the ingredients from the Dènia market, the sausage that Pedro from the Marinalta butcher has recommended. Outside Alicante it is not easy, but you can find it too. If you do not have the option to buy it online.
• This rice with crust is the version that the mother of a friend from Elche has recommended to me. Her mother usually prepares it on Sundays and I have had the pleasure of trying it … I hope it lives up to her recipe.
• We have added chickpeas to it although it is not usually a regular ingredient. And we have not added either dry garlic or rabbit, which is more from the southern regions.
• In this case we have used a casserole suitable for the fire and oven. It can be done in it, but it is best to prepare it in a clay pot and make it first with firewood and then finish in the oven. I have adapted the recipe to be able to do it at home in any home in Spain.
• The arròs amb crosta is a forceful first and that does not need accompaniments, it is placed in the center of the table and each one throws what they want.
• In some restaurants in Elche they add a touch of lemon zest and nutmeg to the beaten egg, giving it a very aromatic flavor.