Rice with chards, beans and ribs

Intense and constant, the drizzle hits hard against the umbrella and gets into every opening in the clothing as you walk. It's almost the end of winter. The complicit wind blows with icy force the ivy that seems to be slightly peeling off the entrance as if it were a double bark of that same wall. Upon arrival, the keys slip from the wet hands. What are a few seconds seem like minutes, at that time, when hunger and the desire to get home intensify the ambition to enter. 

Behind the misted glass of the window, the dry leaves of the vine, pushed by the gale, accumulate on one side of the patio. Already sheltered, an immediate perfume arrives through the corridor invading the spirit; that ancestral smell of home and memories: the essence of golden garlic crackling in olive oil, aromas that recall another time, of slow cooking, those that predict known surprises of flavours and textures. That culinary fragrance that frequently arises while walking on the sidewalks of small towns, when after exclaiming: What a good smell! And immediately whet the appetite. It is the kitchen of the past, the enchanted pot with absolute power.

In the fireplace, embers and sparks reflect their warm tones of shimmering splendour against the dark wood of the table. And it is in its centre that one finds the very incarnation of desire before oneself: there, inside that illustrious piece of tableware, which is the tureen, steaming seductively, is the rice with chards.

In the hierarchy of menus, the course is classified gastronomically as a single dish, but that only finds respect in cookery theory. In the privacy of a home, where obedience and protocol go under different terms, this category acquires another meaning: the single dish translates into having seconds and the plate being deep and wide concave.

 

After finishing the first, it becomes practically impossible to resist the desire and get away from that tasty moment of revelry. It is in the cloning of the first act when the pleasures of the mouth are prolonged. And it is then when the spoon is the one that embraces the soul. Steaming and perfect rice with chards is a preparation, which in its liquid base preserves all the flavours and aromas of cooking and a contribution, which with meat, vegetables and legumes deliver all its properties to the body. It is an ideal recipe to prepare in advance. Just add the beans and the rice when seated at the table. Skipping the meat can become an excellent vegetarian option. Providing its benefits, it is a traditional dish from Valencia and its regions to eat all year round, but even better on rainy and cold days. It is one of those heart-warming dishes that anyone wants to see on the table when entering the home.

Ingredients - 4 servings

Extra Virgin Olive oil PROMESA

Salt

Garlic cloves

5

1 chopped and 4 whole with skins on

Pork ribs

500g

Chopped onion

1

Water

1.5 Litre (approximately)

Sweet Paprika

1 tsp

Chopped tomato

1

Saffron

1 pinch

Dry Bay leaf

1 leaf

Potatoes cut in small chunks

300 g

Swiss Chards (leaves and stems)

300g

White beans

200g

Pre-cooked

Round grain rice

200g

Recipe

  1. Chop the ribs into pieces of about 6 - 7 cm
  2. Wash the chard, and cut the leaves and stems into pieces.
    Crush the 4 garlic cloves with their skin and chop the onion and the peeled garlic clove.
  3. Heat a good splash of olive oil in a pot.
  4. Add the meat and let it brown well.
  5. Add the garlic, the bay leaf and onion and saute until the onion is transparent.
  6. Make a space in the middle and lightly fry the paprika, and the saffron and immediately add the grated tomato to avoid burning.
  7. Add the potatoes and swiss chards.
  8. Season to taste
  9. Cover with the water and boil for about 25 - 30 minutes.
  10. Adjust salt if necessary.
  11. Add the rice and beans.
  12. Cook over high heat for 8 minutes and 10 more minutes over low heat.
  13. Serve immediately.