Baked Rice Recipe

Baked rice in my family is a dish that is usually eaten on Sundays or holidays, because it is rather long to prepare and being a rather hearty one-pot meal, it usually requires a small siesta after lunch.

Ingredients for baked rice for 4 people

• half a kilogram of timbale rice
• 400 grams tomato puree
• half an onion
• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• grams 200 diced cooked ham
• grams 200 cheese such as caciotta or provola grated rather thickly
• grams 200 béchamel sauce
• grams 50 grated Parmesan cheese
• salt, pepper and olive oil to taste

Preparation of baked rice

In a saucepan fry the finely sliced onion in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, when it turns golden brown add the tomato puree. Salt and pepper to taste and cook for about 30 minutes, if it tends to dry out too much add half a glass of water.

Meanwhile, cook the rice in plenty of hot salted water.

As soon as the rice is cooked, drain off the water and add the tomato sauce. Mix well and add the diced cooked ham, half of the caciotta cheese and the 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and sliced. Mix all these ingredients well with the rice.

Grease an oven dish and put a layer of rice to cover the surface of the dish. Place half of the béchamel sauce and half of the leftover caciotta cheese on top.

Place another layer of rice on top and repeat with the béchamel sauce and the remaining cheese. Finish with the remaining rice to cover the entire surface. Add plenty of grated cheese and bake at 180 degrees for 30 minutes, or until a light crust has formed on the surface. Serve hot.