Las Nenas's Vegetable Rice

I have to be honest - my heart wasn't really in my last post. Could you tell? I felt like choosing that recipe was a bit like grasping at straws - I didn't really want to be making it, and once I made it I didn't really want to eat it. Luckily, I was able to fob the rest of the cake off on my office mates (who polished it off in no time) and decide that life is too short to make recipes I don't want to make. Least of all eat, or write about. So that's that.

In other news, however, I had a great time making this rice last night. It was going to be a quiet night alone at home, and I figured it was one of those evenings where I could get away with making a pot of vegetable-filled rice for dinner and nothing else. Not that that meant the recipe was easy or quick. In fact, this is one of more complicated preparations I've ever done for a rice dish. But? It was totally worth it.

The recipe comes from two American women (chef transplants from California) who live in Catalonia (yet another part of the world I am just itching to see - preferably on a Vespa as I noodle around the winding roads and villages in between staggeringly beautiful countryside and delicious, rustic meals - nice vision I've got for myself, no?) and run an inn called Las Nenas. A writer for the LA Times, Betty Hallock, stumbled upon the place before a pilgrimage to that other Catalan temple of food, El Bulli.

Betty and her traveling companion cooked a meal with the owners of Las Nenas and then shared the recipes with the LA Times. While the grilled rabbit, lamb and chorizo with romesco seemed far too complicated to recreate at home alone, the vegetable rice was another story. It featured the Catalan version of soffritto, long-cooked onions and garlic, plus three tomatoes grated maddeningly on the side of a box grater.

That tomato-grating business was the worst part of the whole endeavor. Why, I grumbled to myself, as seeds spurted every which way and the tomato meat Would. Not. Detach. Itself from the skin, can't I just use a can of peeled tomatoes, crushed? But then it was over, and the house smelled divine, like onions and tomatoes and saffron and coziness, and I had already moved on to the next part of the recipe.

I substituted canned lima beans (you might think I'm nuts, but this is a new discovery of mine, and I think I'm in love) for the fava beans, because - gasp - I think fava beans might be overrated and in any case I can barely afford them and after grating all those tomatoes, the last thing I wanted to do was to parboil and peel and boil again a bunch of darned beans. And I used frozen baby peas instead of the English peas called for, but we all know that that is fine and no crime against gourmandiserie in any case.

After I stewed the onions and garlic for a while and then added in all that tomato slop and two healthy pinches of saffron and the rice (I used Carnaroli instead of Bomba) and wine and stock and all those beans and peas and asparagus lengths and salt (salt!), the casserole was stuck in the oven where over the next 20 minutes, it turned into a gorgeous, golden, fragrant pot of the most wonderfully flavored rice and vegetables. I cut up strips of piquillo peppers to decorate the top , as instructed, but I'd advise against that if I were you. It's fussy and unnecessary and the rice tastes more delicious without those little red interlopers.

But do not forget about the lemon wedges. The freshly squeezed citrus brightens everything up and makes this risotto-like dish sparkle. I had two helpings for dinner and then more for lunch today (because, by the way, this recipe is really not meant for the single girl - thanks be that I have friends coming over to help polish this off), and am so relieved to have found a recipe that I am thrilled to have made and can't wait to make again.

Vegetable Rice
Serves 6

2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil (I used far less - about 4 tablespoons)
3 tomatoes (about 1 1/4 pounds)
2 large pinches of saffron
2 cups short grain rice, ideally Bomba
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup favas (about 1 pound), out of pods and peeled
1/2 cup fresh English peas (about 8 ounces), shelled
1 cup asparagus (about 10 spears), cut into about 2-inch pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 piquillo peppers for garnish, thinly sliced
Lemon wedges

1. In a large, heavy, ovenproof casserole, make a sofregit by cooking the onions and garlic in the olive oil very slowly over low heat until tender and golden but not browned, about 40 minutes to an hour.

2. Cut the tomatoes in half and grate them by pressing the fleshy side against the medium holes of a box grater. Discard the skins. After the onions are tender, add the grated tomato and saffron and cook slowly for 10 minutes. Heat the oven to 375 degrees.

3. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains in the sofregit. Add the white wine, stock, favas, peas, asparagus and salt.

4. Bring the rice mixture to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the stove top and bake, uncovered, until stock is absorbed and rice is cooked, about 20 minutes.

5. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Decorate with the piquillo pepper slices and serve with lemon wedges.

Comments

[David L]

Fava beans...overrated?

...Yes...that is the sound of me gasping...

[ann]

WOW! I'm in love! it's goregous, sounds jaw droppingly delicious, and yep, i'm with you, i think favas are a wee bit overrated as well.

i had this very thought Monday night while trying to recreate momofuku's ramen after a looong day of work.
i decided to toss in some edamame and while i was happily chomping on them i thought to myself, why mess with favas when you have edamame and frozen lima beans?

call me overworked, but i'm with you Luisa!

[lindy]

I do love favas, myself-but I can certainly see that one is not always in the mood to peel the little buggers. I am cool with frozen limas myself.Do you like the canned better?

[Luisa]

David - yes, it's true! At least for me. They're expensive and a pain in the neck to clean and the payoff isn't really worth it, I find. A chacun son gout!

Ann - glad this dish looks so good to you. And I'm impressed that you tried to recreate Momofuku's ramen! Were you winging it or did you have a recipe?

Lindy - I like frozen limas, but I never tried canned ones until the other night. A revelation, in terms of lima beans, in my opinion. They're smaller and more tender and flavorful. Also, a bit too salty, but nothing a bit of water can't correct.

[lobstersquad]

Don´t give up on the tomato grating! It´s a really great idea, and saves so much time on the blanching/peeling thing. They have to be very ripe, though. I use canned if they´re not. Everyone in this country does, don´t be fooled by the romantic ways of food writers.

[ann]

oh, i was winging hardcore!
i kind of gave up on recreating the whole thing about halfway through shopping for it, so in the end the only things that had any relation to momofuku were the poached egg and the wakame!
it wasn't nearly as perfect, but it was delicious in it's own way.
man, i wish i could eat that ramen EVERY day!

[Julie]

I don't know about fava beans being overrated but they are WAY expensive (at least here) and they are a LOT of work. And the baby limas instead of peas sound like an improvement to me.

This rice looks very satisfying and the colors are gorgeous.

[Esther]

Firstly,a very innovative recipe, but with overpowering flavors.

This is a very unusual fusion of white wine, lemon juice and saffron as they tend to interfere with the natural flavor of fava beans and asparagus.

Chicken stock and white wine again is not a very usual pairing. However, the usage of any one or the substitution of chicken stock with a seafood stock would have made a lot of difference.

[Luisa]

Ximena - glad to hear canned tomatoes could be substituted. I have seen other Spanish recipes with this grating technique, good to know I was following the authentic method! Even if it was maddening... ;)

Ann - I'm impressed. Without a recipe, I'd just sigh and walk over to 1st avenue. Yum!

Julie - it was totally satisfying, a perfect one-plate meal. I used the baby limas instead of the favas, and the frozen baby peas instead of English ones (yet another secret: I actually prefer frozen peas to fresh ones! Yet another collective gasp....)

Esther - I'm not sure I agree with you that this is an unusual combination of flavors. At least in southern European cooking, the combination of saffron with rice and vegetables is quite classic, not to mention using white wine and then stock to simmer it all together. Seafood stock would be a lovely idea if the rice had shellfish in it -t then you'd really be making a paella. I suppose you could also use vegetable stock in this dish, though I am not a fan of vegetable stock - it's often quite dusty-tasting.

[tokyoastrogirl]

I got a chuckle out of your tomato-grating description. I'll be sure to wear an apron when making this dish. I'm also glad to hear that you made this dish with far less olive oil (1/2 cup? scary) than called for. I can't wait to try it- it seems like a combination of all things fresh and comforting.

[Julie]

I read that LA Times article awhile back. Everything about their trip sounded so wonderful, I printed it out and saved it. Spain is my number one culinary destination. I haven't been yet, but my husband and I want to buy a house there eventually. Beautiful rice!

[Rebecca]

If you made this again would you still grate the tomatoes? That really sounded like a pain! But the dish sounds divine and like a keeper; I can't wait until my kitchen is finished so I can start cooking again.

[May]

I'm also in love with canned lima beans. Not sure why but they're tastier than other varieties of canned white bean. My current favourite use for them is in a risotto flavoured with lemon zest.

[panasianbiz]

I stumbled across your blog while I was doing some online research. The recipe looks great, but I can't imagine trying to grate tomatoes. What a mess!

[Luisa]

Anne - so much oil, right? I couldn't really figure out why - the dish definitely turns out wonderfully with just a few spoonfuls.

Julie - Spain's a lovely country. I remember by the end of my first trip there (we went to Madrid, then Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada) that I could barely stand to look at another piece of jamon or manchego. And all I wanted was a salad! So bulk up on your greeny leafy vegetables before going ;)

Rebecca - honestly, I probably would grate the tomatoes again, just because as much as I complained about it, I did feel like a virtuous Spanish cook while doing so and that was kind of neat. Of course, I'd only do it again if the tomatoes were any good. In winter, canned all the way.

May - glad to hear I'm not alone! I love the idea of those beans in a lemon risotto - delicious.

Panasianbiz - it was a little messy, though over a rimmed cutting board not that bad. And the flavor was worth it, I think.

[martha kroncke]

I stumbled across this on our stats page and was very entertained and a little amazed at how far our little recipe had traveled. I agree that the lima beans would be wonderful but they do not exist here in Girona.
Katy agrees that the peppers are unecessary but many people want the little crowning touch-
Martha at Las Nenas

[la ninja]

ha ha ha! new reader that I am, was browsing through old posts and was dead chuffed to find this Catalan-oriented one! :)
have tried to get a reservation at "el bulli" a couple of times but it never works, will check "les nenes" out next time I'm up there in Girona (it's been a while, sighs this expat!)

"adoro les faves (a la catalana)!"