Boletus Country Rice

The quotidian cooks are back with an irresistible winter stew from Cádiz, in Southern Spain: Boletus Country Rice. This season we are working with the vegetarian restaurant Ecocenter in Tarifa, under the leadership of the Venetian chef Alessio De Giustti. The restaurant commissioned us to develop the menu for New Year’s Eve and we opted for it to be vegan. A risky decision that allowed us to directly check the interest in plant-based food. Would you bet for a vegan dinner on such a special night?

We entertained 50 customers looking quite happy to start the new year in a coherent way. After the service we could not stop commenting on the full venue. Will 2019 be the year of veganism’s takeoff? Is it just another fad? Or are we beginning to react to a deeply dysfunctional food system? Whatever it is we live it, as Bee Wilson says, as A dream of purity in a toxic world.

Ikebana with Boletus Edulis © The Quotidian Cook, 2019.

The following day, (that is, January 1st), the quotidians were in a celebrating mood so we went to a Venta (Gibraltar County taverns in the countryside) to eat Arroz Campero (Country Rice Stew), a kind of primordial pot where seasonal products are combined with rice. You can guess the original version is not vegetarian, nor vegan, nor anything closer. Except for that small detail (!) it is a monument to traditional cuisine: simplicity, quality and efficiency.

Excited by the experience we decided to recreate the traditional dish’s concept taking it to the plant-based world. We went for Porcini mushrooms (Boletus Edulis), our favorite mushroom for its aroma and texture and very abundant in the Cádiz mountains. One of the advantages of working with Porcinis is that they can be used fresh, frozen or dried and do keep its flavor in all kinds of cooking.

Boletus Country Rice

 

Print

Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Author: TQC

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ½ lb of boletus (3/4 pieces) (fresh or frozen)
• 1 oz. of boletus powder (or pieces of dry boletus)
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil EVOO
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 medium carrot
• 2 tablespoons of crushed tomato.
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ tablespoon of smoked paprika
• 1 glass of oloroso (125 ml)
• ½ lb ground rice
• 6½ cups of vegetable broth (1500 ml)
• ½ lb romanesco cut into florets (one small romancesco)
• Sea salt

Instructions

1. Clean the mushrooms and cut through the middle of the foot leaving four whole pieces without defects. Save the cuts and small pieces for the .
2. Cut the mushrooms into thin slices and sauté in the oil until golden brown. Reserve.
3. In the same oil, poach the garlic, carrot, peppers and pieces of mushrooms all cut into small cubes (brunoise).
4. While the vegs are cooking, boil the broth with the boletus powder/pieces.
5. Add the tomato and paprika to the vegetables.
6. Add the rice, sauté for a minute and add the oloroso wine.
7. Let the alcohol evaporate and pour the steaming broth.
8. Bring to a boil, taste and adjust the salt.
9. Cover the pot, cook over medium heat and ten minutes later, add the romanesco florets without stirring or touching the rice.
10. Five minutes later, add the mushrooms on top, put out the fire and cover the casserole.
11. Serve during the following 5 minutes.

3.5.3251