Ross il-forn with Carnaroli

Following our recent discovery of the Carnaroli type of rice I thought of using this variety for the traditional Maltese baked rice dish. So here’s my recipe for ross il-forn with carnaroli rice. The result is a creamy and crunchier risotto. The grains keep their individuality and the texture of the bake is not sticky.

Ingredients for 4 persons:

• 300g carnaroli rice
• 1 onion
• 1 celery stalk
• 1 carrot
• 350g freshly minced beef
• 250g chicken liver
• 150g fresh pork sausages
• 2 tins peeled tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• 100g grated parmesan
• extra virgin olive oil
• knob of butter

Prepare the sauce: pour some olive oil in a saucepan, fry the finely chopped onion and celery. Add the minced beef, crumbled sausage meat and chopped chicken livers. Season with salt and pepper and fry until browned. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and leave sauce to simmer on very low heat for around 1 hour. Taste and season as necessary.

When the sauce is ready, toast the rice in a heavy-based saucepan with a little olive oil then mix with the sauce, blend in the parmesan, add 400ml of vegetable stock and pour into an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle some parmesan on top and little bits of butter. Bake in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees Celsius for around 20 minutes. Leave to rest for a couple of minutes then serve.