Arroz al horno (baked rice)

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 800g Pork belly slices
• 150g Black Pudding
• 100g Bacon lardon
• 1 chopped Onion
• 2 Red Pepper
• 1 chopped Plum Tomatoes
• 8 Garlic Clove
• 4 teaspoons Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon Chilli Flakes
• 200g Dried white beans
• 1 1/2 L Chicken Stock
• 6 parts Thyme
• 375g Paella Rice
• 1 Lemon Juice

Quantities are the original recipe’s. The cost is our own estimate — typical own-brand supermarket prices for these quantities, divided by 4 servings. TheMealDB does not state how many a dish serves, so 4 is our assumption, not theirs. Treat it as “about this much a head”, not a shopping bill.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 200C/180C/gas 6.
2. Warm half the olive oil in a wide, deep pan (around 30cm) over a high heat and brown the pork belly slices in batches, then set them aside in a bowl.
3. Add the rest of the oil, turn the heat down to medium, and fry the black pudding and bacon lardons until coloured all over, then lift them out with a slotted spoon.
4. Soften the onion and red peppers in the same pan for around 10 mins until pale and sweet, stir in the tomato and cook until it breaks down.
5. Stir in the garlic, paprika and chilli flakes and cook for 2 mins, then return the pork, black pudding and bacon to the pan.
6. Tip in the beans, pour over the stock, add the thyme and bring to the boil.
7. Scatter the rice into the gaps around the meat, pressing it down under the liquid, and let it return to the boil before seasoning well.
8. Transfer the pan to the oven uncovered and bake for 20 mins without stirring.
9. Check the rice: it should be tender with the stock absorbed. If not quite there, return to the oven for a further 5 mins and check again.
10. Taste and adjust the seasoning, then finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and a trickle of extra virgin olive oil before serving.

These steps were written by StreetOwl from the original recipe, in British English, with every oven temperature and cooking time checked against the source. They are not the original author’s words. If anything reads oddly, the original is linked below and it wins.