Arroz al Horno Valenciano

Arroz al horno is Valencian, and it is not paella wearing a different pan. This is oven-baked rice, arròs al forn, made in a cazuela de barro with pork ribs, morcilla, chickpeas, potato, tomato, and a whole head of garlic in the middle like it owns the place. It comes out dry, not soupy, with separate grains and a browned top that tells you the oven did its work.

The method that decides it is the broth-to-rice ratio. Once the hot broth goes in, the rice has one chance to drink exactly what it needs. Too much and you get soft, tired rice. Too little and the centre stays hard. For short-grain Valencian rice, use twice the volume of hot broth to rice, then bake hard and leave it alone. No stirring. Not every arroz is a paella, and this one certainly isn't.

If you have leftover cocido broth, use it. That is the old sense of the dish. If you don't, a good pork and chicken stock will do, with a little saffron and pimentón to bring it toward Valencia. No hace falta haber pisado España. You do need short-grain rice, real morcilla if you can find it, and a clay or heavy oven dish that holds heat well.

The cazuela should go to the table with the garlic head still at the centre, the potato rounds browned at the edges, the tomato softened into the rice, and the morcilla dark and rich. Let it rest ten minutes before you serve it. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.