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- Arròs de Matances: A Dish Cooked Just Once a Year
Arròs de Matances: A Dish Cooked Just Once a Year
A dish that's powerful, ritualistic and full of flavour, and only cooked on one day a year in the island's farmhouses.
RECIPE
RECIPE
RECIPE
RECIPE
RECIPE
RECIPE
Stews, soups and rices
Not Halal
Not suitable for vegans
Not suitable for vegetarians
Not Kosher
Ibiza
Main ingredients
(for 4 people)
- Olive oil
- 4 vaso de Rice
- Saffron threads
- Cinnamon
- 200 gr. de Pork ribs
- 2 unidad de Garlic clove
- 0.5 kg. de Hen
- 1 unidad de Rabbit or chicken liver
- 100 gr. de Pork loin
- 1 unidad de Sundried ñora pepper
- 200 gr. de Pebrasso mushrooms (chanterelles)
- Parsley
- Black pepper
- 1 unidad de Red pepper
- 0.5 unidad de Chicken
- Salt
- 2 cucharada de Sobrassada
- 100 gr. de Pork tenderloin
- 1 unidad de Tomato
Best enjoyed
- April, August, December, January, February, July, June, March, May, November, October, September
Total time: 80 min
kcal per portion: 600 kcal
Difficulty:
Arròs de Matances is one of the most representative and typical dishes of traditional Ibizan cuisine. Although today some restaurants include it on their menus, in the countryside it remains a sacred recipe, made only on the day of the traditional pig slaughter, which usually takes place in December. It is cooked with fresh meat from the freshly slaughtered animal, chicken or free-range hen, sobrassada sausage, wild mushrooms and an aromatic broth base. In some places, cinnamon is added or fish stock is used as a base, as was the case in traditional fishers’ houses.
Main ingredients (for 4 people):
500 g hen
500 g chicken
200 g pork ribs
100 g pork loin
100 g pork tenderloin
1 chicken liver
200 g pebrasso mushrooms (chanterelles)
1 ripe tomato
1 red pepper
2 garlic cloves
1 sundried ñora pepper
4 small cups of rice
2 tbsp sobrassada
Fresh parsley
Saffron threads
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Cinnamon powder (optional)
Step-by-step instructions:
Make the broth.
Boil the chopped chicken in plenty of water for about 45 minutes to get a concentrated broth. Strain and keep warm.
Brown the meat.
In a wide pan, fry the chicken, ribs, pork loin and tenderloin in olive oil until well browned.
Add the vegetables and mushrooms
Add the grated tomato, the pepper cut into strips, chopped garlic and the pebrasso mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat until the sauce is well combined.
Add the stock.
Pour the hot stock into the pot with the meat and vegetables. Boil for about 15 minutes.
Prepare the minced ingredients
Fry the ñora pepper and chicken liver. Crush with a pestle and mortar with the remaining garlic cloves, parsley and saffron threads until you get a fine, even paste.
Add the rice and finish cooking.
Add the rice to the pan. Add the sobrassada and the minced ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and, if desired, add a pinch of cinnamon powder.
Cook together over a high heat for 15 minutes, without stirring too much to avoid breaking the rice.
How to Best Enjoy Arròs de Matances:
This rice is served freshly made, hot and on its own, apart from with a good loaf of bread and a glass of wine. Its flavour is deep, spicy and slightly fatty from the sobrassada, which makes it the perfect dish for colder days.
Dish Variants:
In seaside areas, arròs de matances is prepared with fish stock as a base, giving it an even richer flavour.
The more orthodox country version contains only fresh pork meat, especially that obtained on the day of slaughter.
Some cooks add a whole cinnamon stick instead of powder to perfume the broth more gently.
This recipe has been prepared by the chefs of the reputable Balearic School of Hospitality and Catering of the Balearic Islands in Ibiza.
Preparation
- Make the broth Boil the chopped chicken in plenty of water for about 45 minutes to get a concentrated broth. Strain and keep warm.
- Brown the meat In a wide pan, fry the chicken, ribs, pork loin and tenderloin in olive oil until well browned.
- Add the vegetables and mushrooms Add the grated tomato, the pepper cut into strips, chopped garlic and the pebrasso mushrooms. Cook over a medium heat until the sauce is well combined.
- Add the stock Pour the hot stock into the pot with the meat and vegetables. Boil for about 15 minutes.
- Prepare the minced ingredients Fry the ñora pepper and chicken liver. Crush with a pestle and mortar with the remaining garlic cloves, parsley and saffron threads until you get a fine, even paste.
- Add the rice and finish cooking Add the rice to the pan. Add the sobrassada and the minced ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and, if desired, add a pinch of cinnamon powder. Cook together over a high heat for 15 minutes, without stirring too much to avoid breaking the rice.
