Rice Soup

History

This "Sopa de arroz" is documented in the Spanish home-cookery book La Mejor Cocinera, Recetas de Cocina, issued by the Madrid publishing house of (Saturnino) Calleja; the recipe carries no named author. Despite the name "soup," the printed recipe is a rice preparation rather than a broth: rice is boiled in salted water while tomato, pimiento (pepper), a small onion, and thin strips of potato are fried in manteca (lard); finely chopped chicken or hen giblets ("menudillos de pollo o gallina"), jamón, and chorizo are mixed in and combined with the cooked rice, and it is served, optionally dusted with grated Parmesan ("queso de Parma rallado"). Beyond its appearance in this book, the historical record located here does not document a specific origin, inventor, region of birth, or social context for this particular recipe. Earlier claims tracing the dish to the Moorish introduction of rice or to the Albufera wetlands of Valencia, and describing it as fare of an "emerging middle class," are not supported by any source opened and have been removed as unsourced.

Ingredients

• Rice
• Water
• Salt
• Manteca (lard)
• Tomato
• Bell pepper
• Onion
• Potatoes
• Chicken giblets
• Jamón (cured ham)
• Chorizo (cured pork sausage)
• Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Bring rice to a boil in salted water and cook until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a skillet, heat the manteca (lard) and fry the tomato, bell pepper, small onion, and potato strips together until softened.
3. Add the finely minced chicken giblets, jamón (cured ham), and chorizo (cured pork sausage) to the vegetables and mix well.
4. Combine all the contents of the skillet with the cooked rice.
5. When fully cooked, serve. If desired, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese over the top.