There are many rice dishes, but these five are typical of the Mediterranean region!
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Different preparations that through vegetable or animal raw materials pick up the flavor and even enhance it, making each spoonful a set of combinations and gastronomic history.
1. Valencian Paella
Paella is not only one of the best known rice dishes in Spain, it is also the most famous dish abroad and a preparation of magical flavor with a very special liturgy. Among the canonical ingredients of the most elementary Valencian paella are rice, water, tomato, olive oil, rabbit and chicken meats suitably salted, saffron for the yellow color, garrofón -a legume that must be rehydrated- and green beans of the ferradura type. It is also usual to add paprika, snails, rosemary for aroma, garlic in the sauce, duck meat, pork ribs or other vegetables, such as tavella or artichokes in season.
One of the most widespread versions of paella is paella marinera, which eliminates vegetables and meat and adds seafood, as well as fish stock. As is logical, paella marinera is typical of coastal towns where cuttlefish, squid, crayfish and other crustaceans are widely consumed.
There are similar recipes you can make instead of paella, using almost the same ingredients, for example, this recipe with white or brown rice: successrice.com/recipes/spanish-rice/.
2. Cuban-style rice
From colonial times, this dish has been very common in any Spanish family. In the same dish, a portion of boiled white rice, a couple of spoonfuls of fried tomato and a fried egg that keeps the yolk liquid are unmixed. To these three elements some slices of fried plantain are added, giving an interesting contrast between sweet and salty.
The most typical form of presentation is to mold the white rice with a cup or bowl. Once cooked, it is usually molded with a glass or cup so that it looks like a kettledrum. Some variants of the dish are made substituting the egg for sausages, chorizo or another meat product. If you want a vegetarian version you can include some cooked chickpeas and then sautéed with garlic, which will add a healthy portion of fiber and vegetable proteins.
3. Arroz a banda
Arroz a banda consists of a preparation that starts with a broth made with morralla and other humble fish. These marine products lacked value and were the food of the fishermen who invented the dish. Over time, the broth was made with higher quality ingredients and selected fish, becoming one of the most consumed and appreciated rice dishes in the Mediterranean, especially in Alicante, where it originated.
This broth added to a fried garlic, ñora and fish heads is the basis for cooking rice in a paella, once the rice has absorbed the broth is presented to the diners, usually with the accompaniment of aioli, which in addition to providing a blow of intense and different flavor, served as a caloric supplement.
4. Black rice
The black rice, in Valencia or Catalonia, is another of the Mediterranean fish and seafood rice dishes that are most in demand at family and friendly gatherings. The adjective ‘black’ is due to the fact that during the cooking of the rice in broth, cuttlefish or squid ink is added, which changes the pearly white color of the rice grains to a dark gray tone. As it is a dry rice dish, it is cooked in paella and less frequently in an earthenware casserole. Like arroz a banda, it has a base of morralla and a fried sauce of chopped onions and garlic, to which pieces of cuttlefish, squid and prawns are added.
The black rice is not exclusive of Spain, it is also common in Italy under the name of riso al nero di seppia, although it is in the Grao of the city of Castellón and in some towns of the coast of Alicante and Gironés where it is most celebrated.
5. Baked rice
Baked rice is a dish that uses the leftovers of the stew and the broth from the same preparation. Among its main ingredients, in addition to rice, there are various pork products -chorizo, sausages, bacon, ribs or balls of minced and spiced meat-, potatoes, chickpeas, tomato slices and a head of garlic that serves as both an ornamental and aromatic element.
This dish is cooked in an earthenware casserole resistant to the high temperatures of the oven. It is very popular throughout the Valencian Community, but it is more typical in inland towns such as Onteniente, Játiva, Cheste or Muro de Alcoy.