Self isolation, week 12: we get a very special brewing kit, the cast iron pan is brought back from exile, we have a very Valencian Sunday, some shops reopen, and I am also really fed up

Traditional / floral arnadĂ­ design

This week has become a bit colder and rainy, which I suppose means we’re getting full on into the summer!

Continue reading “Self isolation, week 12: we get a very special brewing kit, the cast iron pan is brought back from exile, we have a very Valencian Sunday, some shops reopen, and I am also really fed up”

Chamborado

This is quite a heavy breakfast, so I don’t recommend you go for this if you’re expecting to have a substantial lunch afterwards. But now that it’s a bit colder, this is the kind of comforting chocolatey thing I look forward to on Sunday mornings 🙂

Ingredients:

  • 140 g round rice (paella, ‘bomba’ or risotto rice should work)
  • 100 g dark chocolate
  • 30 g sugar
  • any milk you like – I used coconut milk, or just water if you’re feeling spartan
  • some exotic fruit like mango or papaya to balance the sweetness, at room temperature
  • maybe other decorations like desiccated coconut
  • if you’re very fancy, maybe edible flowers? I have no idea where to get these. Maybe a couple mint leaves would be nice too ?

Preparation

  1. Prepare the chocolate: with a big knife, cut it into shavings so it’s easier to melt later. Leave aside.
  2. Prepare the fruit, if it’s not already pre-sliced, do peel and cut the mango in squares and leave aside.
  3. On a pot, put 280 ml of milk to start with, and bring to a boil
  4. When it starts boiling, add the rice, and reduce the heat so it doesn’t evaporate super quickly. Put a lid on, leave to cook and occasionally stir to avoid it getting stuck to the bottom.
  5. When it starts looking like almost all the liquid has been absorbed, you need to start adding extra water in small quantities. I suggest you use warm water as it won’t stop the process that much. Add spoonfuls of water and stir. You don’t want the rice to be overcooked, but you don’t want it raw either. So try a grain from time to time. A risotto spoon is very helpful to gently massage the rice and bring out the starch.
  6. Once the rice has released lots of its starch and it’s looking creamy, add the sugar too, stir, and see if it’s sweet enough, then correct by adding more if you want more of a kick (although take into account whether the chocolate you add later has sugar as well).
  7. In parallel, put the chocolate shavings to melt in another pot, preferably using a bain marie to avoid burning it. Or you can wait until later and just mix everything together. (I used a bain marie).
  8. When the rice is nicely cooked, and the grains don’t have a hard core anymore, add the chocolate (it should be nicely melted by now!). Or add the shavings, but bring the heat to the lowest so you don’t burn the rice. Keep gently stirring until it’s all mixed in.
  9. Serve on a deep dish or bowl. Add the fruits and any decoration you want. You could add a splash of milk to have some contrast.
  10. … and eat it! It’s very nice when warm, and the fruit provides some fresh contrast against the chocolate richness.

If you use coconut milk like I did, this is fully vegan, although it’s not very dense and so when adding the final splash it just looks very watery.

This is inspired on a recipe from Symmetry Breakfast’s book, but since I’m a rice snob I decided to ignore his rice amounts and proportions (also he doesn’t go in such detail about how to cook the rice as I went—you can tell that I have high rice standards ?). I also reduced the amount of sugar, but he was suggesting using tablea, which I had no way to source in a timely manner.

My version was a bit drier and less creamy that I expected. I should I have added way more milk or water. Oh well, I guess I can always repeat this!

Also: Apologies if you’re Filipino and this version is insulting to you ??