Baked Rice (Ross il-Forn): A Taste of Malta

This simple dish of comfort food, Baked Rice, is a favourite from the island of Malta. Tomato sauce, ground meat, rice, cheese and eggs are all stirred together in the same pan, then baked until the flavours meld into deliciousness, with more melted cheese on top. A simple, nourishing, and satisfying dish to feed a family.

For our monthly Eat the World recipe challenge we're headed off on another island adventure, this time in the Mediterranean. Malta is a small archipelago consisting of 3 inhabited islands  (Malta, Gozo, Comino) and 2 tiny uninhabited islands which are situated less than 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the island of Sicily. Malta is part of the European Union and is considered part of Southern Europe. It contains just over a half a million people and is the 10th smallest country in the world. Due to its time spent as a British colony in the past, Maltese islanders generally speak fluent English as well as Maltese. This island nation boasts a spectacular Mediterranean climate with scenery to match.

The cuisine of Malta has strong Sicilian, Italian and North African/Arabic influences, as well as shades of English, Spanish, and Provençal cooking due to historical colonization by these regions. This results in a rich and varied gastronomy, quintessentially Mediterranean, with a wide variety of flavours. Fresh seafood, island-raised meats, olives, capers, tomatoes, potatoes. In my research I came across numerous versions of comfort food dishes made of baked pasta or rice, rich with tomato sauce, olive oil, a bit of meat, maybe cheese, and the interesting North African addition of curry powder. This simple but absolutely satisfying dish of Maltese Baked Rice (Ross il-Forn/ 'rice in the oven') has hit the mark. It is definitely a new favourite that will appear more regularly on our own table from now on.

Bake This Rice in a Few Easy Steps

It takes just a few minutes to make the sauce - brown ground meat with onion and spices. Add a can of tomatoes and cook it all for a few minutes to make a simplified bolognese sauce. The difference in the spicing here is the hint of curry powder - that's what makes this baked rice dish Maltese (the North African influence). Then, in a magic minute, you just plonk the rice, meat sauce, and a handful of cheese right in the baking pan (no need to grease the pan or rinse the rice). Whisk up the eggs and the water and pour them on top.

Then stir everything together and it's ready to go into the oven.

15 minutes before it's done, add a handful of shredded cheese on the top if you want, and there's your dinner in a pan. Add a green salad or some steamed veggies and you've got a delicious Maltese meal on the table with minimum fuss.

When this baked rice dish comes out of the oven you'll smell that heavenly aroma - savoury and just tantalizing your taste buds - that melting cheese on top and a beautiful moist rice and meat layer underneat. It's part lasagna, part Spanish rice, part cheesy casserole, and all deliciousness. The meat and rice form the bulk of the dish, the slightly curried tomato sauce and cheese round it all out with rich umami flavour, the water helps cook the rice and the egg binds it all together. I love how it can be scooped with a spoon, or cut into loose squares if you want to.

This is the kind of dish you'll want to keep in mind for when the busyness of the fall school year starts up again, or when you're just looking for an easy, fantastic-tasting dish to feed your family.

Thank you, Malta, for a mouthwatering, belly-warming taste of your island comfort food.

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Check out all the wonderful Maltese dishes prepared by fellow Eat the World members and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

Sneha’s Recipe: Laham Fuq il-Fwar - Maltese Steamed Beef
Pandemonium Noshery: Soppa tal Armla (Widows Stew)
Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Stuffat Tal-Qarnita (Octopus Stew)
Palatable Pastime: Slow-Cooker Maltese Rabbit Stew (Stuffat Tal-Fenek)
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Fenkata
Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Brodu Tat-Tigiega (Maltese Chicken Soup)
Kitchen Frau: Baked Rice
Cultureatz: Maltese Pastizzi Pastry

Guten Appetit!

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Maltese Baked Rice

Margaret Bose Johnson

Baked Rice is a favourite from the island of Malta. Rice, ground meat, tomato sauce, cheese and eggs are all stirred together in the same pan, then baked until the flavours meld into deliciousness, with more melted cheese on top. A simple, nourishing, and satisfying dish to feed a family (and leftovers heat up well).

4.50 from 4 votes

Print Recipe Save for Later

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Resting Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Maltese

Servings 8

Ingredients

 

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium onion finely chopped
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 lb. (454gms) lean ground beef
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
• ▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 1 teaspoon curry powder or 1½ teaspoons if you'd like a more pronounced curry flavour.
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 large can (28 oz/800gms) San Marzano whole tomatoes (or crushed tomatoes)
• ▢ 2 cups (400gms) white rice
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 1 ½ cups (360ml) water
• ▢ 2 cups (200gms) grated cheese, any kind, divided

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
• Heat the oil in a large skillet or medium dutch oven. Cook the onion and garlic for 2 – 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
• Add the ground beef and cook, breaking up the chunks with a spatula, until it is browned and all of the liquid has evaporated.
• Add the salt, pepper, curry powder and oregano, and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes to release the flavours in the spices.
• Add the tomatoes. If using whole canned tomatoes, crush each one in your fist (holding it over the pot) to mush it up before adding it to the pot, then add the juices from the can (or purée the tomatoes before adding, using an immersion blender.)
• Cook the tomato sauce over medium heat, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
• Put the rice into a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) pan.
• Pour the hot tomato/meat sauce over the rice.
• Beat the eggs and mix them with the water. Pour them into the pan with the rice and sauce. Add 1 cup of the grated cheese.
• Stir everything together, mixing it very well right in the baking dish.
• Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. Then open the oven and sprinkle the remaining cup of grated cheese over the casserole. Bake for another 15 minutes.
• Let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Scoop out portions to serve. Serve with a green salad and steamed vegetables (broccoli or carrots are nice).
• Serves 6 to 8.

Notes

Either short grain or long grain rice would work for this dish. No need to rinse the rice, as the extra starch helps thicken the dish.

Check the rice occasionally throughout baking - if it looks like it's getting too dry, drizzle a little bit more boiling water over the top of the dish. There are variables that can affect how a dish turns out, like oven heat, age of rice, size of pan, liquid in tomatoes, etc, so adjust accordingly if needed.

If you'd like to halve this recipe, just use 1 egg and make it in an 8-inch (20cm) square pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan. Bake it for 45-50 minutes. 

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