Rice with Beans and Turnips

This earthy winter dish, known locally as arros amb fesols i naps, is considered by many Valencians to be 'the king of rices,' but it is hard to find except in local home cooking. Originally a dish from the huerta for fiestas, it is an almost soupy dish designed to keep out the cold cooked in a puchero, or curvy earthenware casserole.

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

7 oz short-grained Spanish Rice, such as Bomba or Calasparra

7 oz dried white haricot beans, soaked for 12 hours in cold water

9 oz pig's foot or ear

3 tbsp fat bacon

2 quarts water

3 tbsp olive oil

2 heads of garlic

1/2 tsp mild pimentón

14 oz yellow turnips, peeled and chopped

9 oz morcillas (black pudding)

4 cloves of garlic, skinned

Saffron

Salt

Preparation:

Put the beans, pig's trotter or ear and fat bacon in a large pan, cover with the water over gentle heat, bring to a boil and simmer gently (if you like, use a pressure cooker). Meanwhile, fry the whole heads of garlic in the olive oil, adding the pimentón at the end, and add them with the chopped turnip to the beans.

Cover and simmer gently until the beans are cooked, salting to taste towards the end of cooking time. Take out the meat, and when it is cool enough, cut it into pieces for serving and put it back in the casserole. The dish can now stand for several hours.

Add the black pudding and a little saffron to the warm beans. Check the seasoning, add the rice and simmer for a further 16-18 minutes, until the rice is done. Remove from the heat and serve.

Recipe courtesy of Spain GourmeTour magazine.

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