Country rice

Ingredients for 4 people
400g coarse ground wheat • 100g white “butifarró” (special sausage) • 100g sobrassada • 100g pork ribs • 100g streaky bacon or bacon fat • 100g black “butifarró” (special sausage) • 200g sweet potatoes or potatoes • 1 head of garlic • 2 ripe tomatoes • 2 tbsp olive oil • 1 teaspoon salt

Preparation
1. Put the wheat to soak for 8 hours in cold water using a big salad bowl as the wheat will double its size.
2. Strain the wheat, peel and cut the sweet potato and tomatoes. Peel the outer layers of the garlic dry skin, keeping the head in one piece.
3. Cut the meat and sausages (one piece of each, for each person). Pre-heat oven to 160ºC.
4. Place the wheat in a casserole and pour the rest of the ingredients on top, placing the head of garlic in the middle. Salt and add the oil. Bake in oven for 45 minutes.

Even if the name of this dish speaks of rice, the principal ingredient is wheat ground coarsely in a stone mortar. According to ”De re cibaria” it is a cuisine heritage from the Arabs that has been readapted and is traditionally served in Minorca´s countryside on pig slaughtering day.

Original recipe from the book Minorca. Cooking and gastronomy. Triangle Postals. Photography: Oriol Aleu

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Country rice

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