The crusted rice is a typical dish of the region of Alicante, although it is originally from the city of Elche. In this city, this rice has been cooked for a long time. Families enjoy this rice on Sundays, as is tradition. Other regions of the province of Alicante cook some variants of this rice, all of them delicious. A perfect dish for the whole family and enjoy good quality ingredients.
The key ingredient of this crusted rice will be the sausage and, of course, the egg layer that covers the rice. It can be made with chicken or rabbit meat, the dish being more mellow with the former, and drier with the latter. The egg gives it a very special touch and gives it the typical image of that golden and spongy crust. It is usually cooked in an earthenware casserole. However, many prefer porcelain ones or a good iron paella pan, as it can be heated without problem.
Crusted rice | Shutterstock
Ingredients for 4 people:
- 400 g of bomba rice
- 400 g of rabbit or chicken meat
- 250 g of white and red sausage (sausage)
- 150 g white and black butifarra sausage (fresh pork sausage)
- 1 medium tomato
- Half a large glass of oil
- 8 eggs
- Parsley to taste
How to make crusted rice:
- First, we will prepare the meat in parts. To do this, put the oil in a frying pan and wait for it to get quite hot. Meanwhile, we cut the fresh pork sausages into small slices and the sausages in three or four parts. Grate the tomato and reserve it for later.
- When the oil is very hot, add the sausage and fry it. When it has a golden color, take it out and put it aside in a plate. Now, in the same oil, fry the rabbit or chicken, depending on the type of meat you have chosen. Repeat the previous step, fry, and when it is golden brown, add the grated tomato and stir until the tomato is consumed.
- Now, we prepare the container that we are going to put in the oven. It can be a classic paella pan, but it has to be of good quality so that it distributes the heat well. We measure the rice and the same quantity of water than rice, although perhaps you will have to add a little more water when cooking it. It depends on each rice and the power of the fire of each kitchen.
- We put the rabbit or the chicken, together with the rice and the water in the paella pan. All the ingredients, except the sausage and pork sausage. Once we put the ingredients together and it begins to boil, we preheat the oven to 200ºC, with the heat up and down. We add a soup spoonful of salt and saffron, to give it the characteristic color of the rice. If we see that it lacks water and it is already very dry, we add a little more
- Next, beat all the eggs in a bowl and add some chopped parsley to taste. When you see that the rice has absorbed the water, we remove it from the fire. Before putting it in the oven, add the sausage that we had reserved before and cover the rice with the beaten egg, being careful not to let the sausage stand out. Let it cook in the oven for about 15 minutes, so that the rice finishes cooking. Wait until the egg layer is golden brown. When you see that it is ready, take it out and let it cool. Now you can enjoy this crusted rice, perfect for a family day.
