Baked rice with smoked provola and speck, a first course with an enveloping creaminess suitable for serving even on special occasions. It is made in a few steps and, if you don’t want to make the béchamel at home or need to reduce the preparation time, you can use ready-made, quality béchamel. For the rest, it is a very simple recipe perfect for preparing even in advance. Below I leave you some recipes with rice as the protagonist while at the end of the description, complete with photographic steps, I will answer the most frequent questions.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 4 people
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Electric Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 pinch nutmeg
- to taste fine salt
- 1 1/2 cups rice
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 smoked provola
- 1/2 cup cheese (grated)
- 3.5 oz speck
- 3.5 oz frozen peas
- 2/3 oz onion
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Tools
- 1 Small pot
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Spatula
- 1 Pot
- 1 Colander
- 1 Knife
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Pan
- 1 Baking dish
Steps
To make the baked rice with provola and speck, first prepare the béchamel sauce. To prepare the béchamel, heat the milk in a small pot until almost boiling and remove from heat.
In a non-stick pan, melt the butter and add the flour, stirring with a hand whisk until you get a sort of cream, technically called roux.
Add it to the milk and put the pot back on the heat, stirring continuously until you get the desired consistency which also varies according to the humidity or the addition of a little more flour.
Once cooked, as soon as it thickens to the right point, turn off the heat and add nutmeg and salt and let it cool.
Cook the rice in plenty of salted water for the cooking time indicated on the package. Drain and let cool. Meanwhile, chop the onion into cubes and sauté it in extra virgin olive oil for two minutes. Add the peas and cook for 12 minutes with a ladle of water. Add the speck cut into strips and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
Cut the provola first into slices and then into cubes.
Take the pot or bowl with the drained rice and first add the cooled béchamel and then the peas with the speck.
Add then 40 g of grated cheese.
Add the provola cut into cubes.
Mix.
Pour into the baking dish lightly greased with extra virgin olive oil and level.
Spread the remaining grated cheese on the surface of the rice and bake in a preheated fan oven at 356°F for at least 20 minutes or until that delicious crust forms on the surface.
Let it cool slightly before serving. Believe me, it is a true explosion of taste and goodness.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How can I replace the béchamel?
A base of milk and cheese is unfortunately necessary in this recipe, so you can dissolve some ricotta in 1 1/4 cups of milk for a lighter recipe, or use stracchino. About 7 oz for both should be sufficient, with a pinch of salt and nutmeg, you will need to obtain a creamy and homogeneous base.
