Tomato rice with pennyroyal in a clay pot

Name: Tomato rice with pennyroyal in a clay pot
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 300 g carolino (or arborio) rice; 600 g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped; 1 onion and 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 1.2 L hot water; 1 bunch fresh pennyroyal (or mint); Olive oil, salt and pepper

Our flagship dish: soupy tomato rice cooked in a clay pot ringed by embers — with pennyroyal added only at the end, as the wise ones insist.

⏱ Prep: 15 min 🔥 Cook: 30 min 👥 Serves: 4 Indirect heat Difficulty: Média

Tomato rice with pennyroyal in a clay pot

Method

Arrange the embers in a ring and set the clay pot in the centre.
Soften the onion and garlic in olive oil until golden.
Add the tomato and cook down for 10 minutes, stirring.
Pour in the hot water; when it boils, add the rice.
Cook 15–18 minutes, stirring now and then — it should stay soupy.
Off the heat, add the pennyroyal, cover for 2 minutes and serve loose.

🌡 Fire & temperature
Embers in a ring (never underneath!) — clay wants gentle, enveloping heat, never thermal shock.
Chef's Station: exact temperatures →

🛍 Recommended product
EKOOLOGY briquettes — the ring holds for hours without topping up.
See the products → · Where to buy →

💡 Kool tip: Pennyroyal NEVER boils: it goes in off the heat, to perfume without bitterness.

🍷 Serve it with: Alone it's comfort; next to the slow ribs it's a Sunday in Penacova.

Next recipe: Seafood cataplana over embers →