Rice Stuffed Red Peppers, Pimientos de Arroz, From Alcoy to Onteniente Via Sevilla
Rice stuffed red peppers, pimientos de arroz, is one of the dishes of my childhood and young adulthood (or the period prior to my moving to North America after I married). Medium grain Valencian rice, seasoned and cooked in a tomato based thick broth, bakes to perfection inside sweet red peppers that roast until almost caramelized.
As I write this I am deep in the middle of planning and working with the chefs at Joseph Decuis restaurant on the menu for the upcoming event I am collaborating on, Spain as part of their Culinary Diplomacy Series. I have to admit, I’m excited and nervous in equal parts. Excited to share a taste of Spain with the guests that will be attending, dishes they probably have never tried or heard of, and that are part of the Spanish cuisine and culture. Nervous because, let’s admit it, I am a home cook with a food blog, who will be cooking alongside professionally trained chefs, and not just any chefs, but the pick of the crop, at Indiana’s best restaurant and one of the 50 best in the country.
But when Alice, owner of Joseph Decuis, presented and proposed the idea to me, I could not refuse, despite my initial fear. I took it as a challenge and I am very happy that I did. Working with chefs Marcus and Eric has been a pleasure, they make it look so easy! The event will be in two weeks, so I will be able to tell you more about how it went then.
Working for this event has made me revisit many recipes of my homeland, and recipes of my youth, cooked at home or in my region of Valencia. It also has made me realize that many of the recipes I cook at home are not even on the blog! To me, they are so obvious, because I made them so often, that they stay buried in the back of my head. Some of those recipes will be on the Spanish tasting menu at Joseph Decuis, but many more of them will not, as it is impossible to encompass the richness of the Spanish cuisine in one meal. However, I hope diners walk away feeling that there’s more to the Spanish cuisine than paella and sangría (much as I love them both!).
Today I am bringing you the recipe for rice stuffed peppers, a dish I cook relatively often, that hasn’t made it to the blog yet. As with most rice dishes in Spain, it’s particularly typical of Valencia —the Spanish region where rice grows—, and even more specifically, the Alcoy-Onteniente area, where I come from. My grandma made them, in a very large casserole where she could fit 10 or 12 peppers, and would invite the grandchildren over whenever they were on the menu. My mom, who comes from Sevilla, learned to make them from my grandma, and it’s therefore, through my mom and my grandma, one of the dishes of my youth. The next generation, (my sisters and I) inherited the recipe, and it’s one of the first dishes I cooked for my husband when we married. Just one more of the many rice dishes we cook in Valencia. I hope you like it as much as we do!
RICE STUFFED RED PEPPERS
Pimientos Rellenos de Arroz
Ingredients:
5 medium red peppers
1/3 cup olive oil
3/4 lb pork (I used 5 pork chops)
2 heads garlic
A few sprigs of parsley
1 1/2 cups Bomba rice (or a good medium grain rice, but not arborio)
5 cups crushed tomatoes
1 pinch saffron
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
Preheat the oven at 400ºF.
Chop the pork into very small bits (I slice the pork chops into 1/3 inch strips, then the strips into 1/3 inch squares). Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
Mince the parsley. Peel the garlic cloves and slice them into very thin slices.
Trim off the tops of the bell peppers, remove the seeds and save the tops with the stems to use as lids. Place the peppers in an earthenware casserole, making them stand on their bottoms.
In a skillet, heat the oil. Sauté the garlic slices on medium-low heat until translucent. Remove garlic slices from the oil and set aside. Add the pork pieces and sauté until cooked on all sides. Add the garlic and parsley and mix. Add the tomato and stir. Season with some more salt and pepper, cook for a couple of minutes and add the rice. Cook for a few more minutes, until some of the tomato is absorbed.
Remove from the heat and, using a spoon, fill each pepper with the rice mixture. Place the “lids” on the peppers, add a bit of water to the bottom of the casserole (about 1/4 cup) and place in the oven. Bake for about 50 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for an extra 10 minutes. Remove the foil and cook uncovered for an extra 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.
