Llibre de el Sent Soví – a 14th century work written in Catalan by an anonymous cook to the King of England – mentions rice (Oryza sativa) as an ingredient in Menjar blanc (Blancmange). An emulsion of almonds with rice, a kind of porridge, to which were added the broth and meat of chickens or capons, relating it to the Navarre Christmas canas (white hair) soup. It isn’t until the 15th century, in Nola Ruperto’s El libre del Coch where two formulas for stewed rice appear, that can be considered antecedents to the multiple stewed rice dishes that would arise in later centuries – especially for the Eastern Spanish – who naturally included them in their cuisine. They were rice with beef broth and rice baked in the oven. The latter is made in the oven with egg yolks and a crust, very similar to its ‘great-grandson’, arros rossejat, toasted rice, or rice with a crust, so popular today in Valencia . . .
Today, it is not only the quality of rice that is important, we also pay attention to the area of the produce or to the characteristics of the grain (long, short, brown, etc) for, as is the case with the fashion for varietal wines, little by little, deep reflection is being imposed on the varieties of rice suitable for each type of preparation. Thus, the same rice is not used for a paella or a dry baked dish as it is for a soupy rice in a pot. Or a risotto or a cooked rice garnish, for which we would choose long-grain American rice, called Thaibonnet in Europe. Not to mention an oriental type of dish, in which case we always go for an aromatic basmati, or a rice with Thai jasmine perfume, or even a sticky or glutinous Japanese rice. The crux of the matter lies in choosing the most suitable variety
for each dish. The Italians, who know a bit about this, specify the type of rice used in all their recipes. With some, especially large stock preparations, they use the variety called arborio, of larger grain, while most of the great Italian creamy rice dishes are prepared with carnaroli, the most elegant and also more expensive Italian rice, or with the smaller but very effective vialone nano.
In our case we have used rice to create something as much in vogue as the crunch in a snack, combined with black beans (which look like coffee beans), traditionally called Moors and Christians in Central America and the Caribbean, but in a very modern, and acclaimed, version.