Baked rice in my family is a dish that is usually eaten on Sundays or holidays, because it is quite long to prepare and being a single dish rather substantial, usually requires a small siesta after lunch.
Needed for baked rice for 4 people
- half a kilogram of rice for timbales
- 400 grams of tomato puree
- half onion
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- grams 200 of diced cooked ham
- grams 200 cheese such as caciottina or provola grated rather coarse
- grams 200 of béchamel
- grams 50 grated Parmesan cheese
- salt, pepper and olive oil to taste
Preparation of baked rice
In a saucepan fry the finely sliced onion in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, when it turns golden add the tomato puree. Salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 30 minutes, if it tends to dry out too much add half a glass of water.
Meanwhile, cook the rice in plenty of hot salted water.
As soon as the rice is cooked, drain off the water and add the tomato sauce. Mix well and add the diced cooked ham, half of the caciottina cheese and the 4 sliced hard-boiled eggs. Mix all these ingredients well with the rice. Butter an oven dish and put a layer of rice to cover the surface of the dish. Place half of the béchamel sauce and half of the leftover caciotta cheese on top. Place another layer of rice on top and repeat with the béchamel and remaining cheese. Finish with the remaining rice to cover the entire surface. Add plenty of grated cheese and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a light crust has formed on the surface. Serve hot.
