Heart of Palm Rice
Local name : Arroz con palmito
Creamy rice baked with hearts of palm under a cheese crust, a Costa Rican party dish born of Pacific palm groves.
Photo : Aleat88 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 55 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Method
- Rinse the rice until the water runs clear, then let it drain in a sieve for 10 minutes.
- Chop the onion, pepper and garlic. Soften them in the oil over medium heat for 6 minutes.
- Add the drained rice and stir for 2 minutes to coat every grain in fat.
- Pour in the water, season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil, cover and cook on low heat for 15 minutes.
- Drain the hearts of palm and cut them into 1 cm rounds. Fold them into the rice with the cream.
- Tip everything into a baking dish, cover with the grated cheese and bake at 200°C for 12 minutes.
- Rest for 5 minutes before serving, which lets the cream settle.
The palm hearts come from the pejibaye palm, grown in Costa Rica for exactly this. Rinse them once the tin is open, or the brine takes over the cream.
