Spanish rice with pork ribs and pork meatballs. It’s a casserole dish that’s fit for a hunting lodge, suffused with the aroma of pork and not much else, and producing a ton of food. I used arborio rice, not knowing where to find the rice they use in paella. Brown about 8 pork spareribs on the stove, then remove them and sauté an onion and three garlic. Add about half a can of tomatoes, cooking until you reduce the sauce. Then add a pinch of saffron, some pimentón dulce, and a handful of raisins, followed by four cups of chicken stock. Add the spareribs and cook until the ribs are tender (and I still have the propensity to overcook pork, but it only takes ten or fifteen minutes).
Then you prepare the meatballs. Soak six tablespoons of bread crumbs in milk and combine with a pound of ground pork, one egg, some parsley, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and salt and pepper. Brown the meatballs in a separate pan; the milk-soaked bread crumbs will hold them together and allow them to keep their shapes. Combine everything by adding 2 cups of rice to the casserole, and 2 cups of chestnuts if you have them. Stir the rice into the broth, but do not stir it again; the rice will come together with the rest of the ingredients like a cake. Place the meatballs on top of the rice and heat for about ten more minutes, until the rice and the meatballs are both cooked.
(Photo: Winter woods, D.C. area. Recipe is from The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden.)
365 Days of Food 