Arroz Cubano

This is the breakfast food of choice for Team Garmin-Cervelo rider Christian Vande Velde. As with any dish that is popular, every household has their own version. Some cooks prepare the rice with garlic, while others prepare simply white rice. Some may open a can of tomato sauce and sauté it with a bit of olive oil, while other use a sofrito with onions and peppers. So, this is the “sofrito” version of Arroz Cubano.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutesIngredients:

•sofrito (tomato sauce, see recipe below)
•2 cups uncooked rice
•3-4 cups water
•4 eggs
•Spanish virgin olive oil
•salt to taste

Sofrito is a tomato sauce that is made all over Spain and used in other recipes. Fresh or crushed canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers sautéed in olive oil. First, make the sofrito and set aside until needed.

Pour approximately 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium size sauce pan. Place on a burner on medium high heat. Pour the rice into the pan and coat the rice with the oil. Pour the water into the pan and bring to a boil. Add salt to taste. Then, reduce the heat, loosely cover and allow to simmer until rice is cooked – about 20 minutes.

Pour olive oil into a small frying pan until it is about 1/4" deep. Heat the oil on medium. Fry the eggs one at a time in the olive oil, sprinkling with a dash of salt.

As you take each egg from the frying pan, place a scoop of rice on a plate and make a depression in the center. Ladle some of the sofrito into the depression. Carefully top with a fried egg. Serve immediately.