In search of perfect rice

Much as I love cooking I’ve never been able to make good boiled rice. I’ve tried lots of recommended methods – washing the rice thoroughly first, soaking the grains for an hour or so before cooking, steaming, boiling and then turning off heat until all the water is absorbed, and various rice to water ratios. Nothing works for me – except boil-in-the-bag rice. It seems to be quite popular here in France, along with boil-in-the-bag couscous and quinoa. I was a bit sceptical about it at first; it brought back memories of my mother’s caravan cooking in the 70s, and then there is the anti-plastic health lobby. However, for boiled rice I’ve not found anything to beat it, both at home and in the campervan.

Some people seem to use the same sort of rice whatever they are cooking – usually a white long-grain variety or basmati. I prefer to use the specific (I like to think correct) type of rice to suit the dish. Even in the campervan I carry three types of rice: long grain boil-in-the-bag, Arborio risotto rice, and Spanish paella rice. I’ve found that genuine paella rice can be difficult to track down here in France, so I try to bring a couple of packs back whenever we go down to Spain – it’s cheaper there too. The main difference between risotto and paella is that risotto has to be constantly stirred to give it that delicious creamy texture, whereas a paella can be pretty much left to its own devices whilst you go off to enjoy a glass or two of wine.

I recently read a social media debate about the differences between rice varieties. One poster suggested that paella and risotto rice were interchangeable, the only difference being the method of cooking, so I decided to a little research. Rice is actually a cultivated grass Oryza sativa, and there is an International Rice Gene Bank. Wikipedia tells us that there are over 40,000 varieties of rice world-wide and these can be divided into two main groups: long grain rice, the regular, popular type of rice, and speciality rice which includes aromatic, risotto, glutinous, and pudding rice. The Arborio rice that I use for risottos is a medium–long grain rice from the Piedmont region of northern Italy, whereas the best paella rice is the Bomba variety, a short-grained rice grown in the east of Spain. It is often known as Valencia rice. So, it seems that I’m right in trying to use the most appropriate variety of rice to suit each recipe.

Paella and risotto are great dishes for the campervan. They only use one pan, are ready in under half an hour, and a few basic ingredients can achieve lots of different permutations. One of my campervan favourites is 'Anything Goes Paella'. This is a versatile dish that’s really useful for using up odd vegetables leftover in the fridge or it can be made totally out of tinned store cupboard ingredients. It really is ‘anything goes’. A couple of fresh tomatoes and a squirt of lemon juice adds flavour; a few chilli flakes gives it a hit more ‘poke’.