The rice bomb is a flan. And flan, in Italian sformato, is the name we used to call it at home.
It must be said, however, that it is an Emilian rather than a Romagna dish. In fact, each Emilian province has its own version of the recipe.
You can find the bomb bolognese, the one from Reggio Emilia, and the variant from Modena, even if the oldest recipe originated in Parma and Piacenza.
And it is not surprising since the Parma and Piacenza cuisines, even of poor tradition, were compared to other Emilia and Romagna cuisines of the time, we are talking about the 19th century, peasant but well-to-do.
The recipe for bomba di riso from Piacenza and Parma were and are very similar.
Here, the rice bomb presents a hemispherical shape reminiscent of a cannonball, hence the origin of the name.
The boiled rice dome contains, especially in the original version, a heart of pigeon ragù, sometimes enriched with other ingredients such as mushrooms. In this dish, the rice acts as a container enclosing a tasty filling, and depending on the family, some people cook it in broth or milk. For the filling, of course, there are many variations as well. It cooks in the oven, and to create a crispy crust, the inside of the mold is sprinkled with breadcrumbs.
In the nineteenth century, the rice bomb was a holiday dish even though it was affordable because rice was an inexpensive ingredient.
Speaking of rice, you may not know that its cultivation was widespread in the provinces of Emilia-Romagna, like Bologna, Ferrara, Reggio Emilia, and Piacenza. Also, many women from Piacenza, Ferrara, and Bologna left as mondine (rice-pickers) to go and harvest it in Piedmont and Veneto.
Traditionally, rice was a typical food of the peasant gastronomic culture of Emilia-Romagna, and today, the rice bomb is one dish included in the list of traditional food products of Emilia-Romagna.
My bomb rice recipe
Over time, the mold with the hole in the middle has replaced the domed one, especially from Reggio Emilia on down. In that version, you line the pan with cooked ham and then add rice cooked in milk and mixed with cheese.
I also remember this version at home, but it was called flan or rice ring ever bomba.
After reading the history of the recipe, I decided to choose the domed mold and make the rice bomb as it was once made, there where it originated. However, I preferred to stuff it with a sauce other than pigeon ragù for two reasons: it is not easy to find, and not everyone likes it. For my rice bomb, I chose a filling of sausage, mushrooms, and peas.
The bomb is incredibly versatile, and you can serve it as a first, main course, or one dish.
The recipe for the Bolognese sausage ragù is on the blog. Then you need to add the vegetables I’ve indicated or the ones you like.
The filling
- Use a filling that is not too liquid to prevent it from wetting the rice too much, leaving it soft
- You can use whatever you like. For example, opt for a different meat sauce or one made of vegetables.
Buona cucina, Monica
A short note about its name
I thought its origin was from the fascist era when many dishes were renamed in nationalistic and warmongering terms, when I discovered a Piacenza cook noted the recipe, apparently with this name, in the late 19th century.
In the volume of Artusi (1891), there is no trace of the Piacenza/ Parma recipe, even if I found several bomb recipes, including the Bolognese bomba composta, as far as is totally different from the rice bomb.
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Rice bomb (bomba di riso)
Equipment
- 1 liter dome mold
Ingredients
- 300 g of Carnaroli rice
- 1 l of milk also lactose-free
- 3 g of salt
- 1/2 grated rind of one lemon
- 1/2 g of nutmeg
- 50 g of butter also lactose-free
- 100 ml of heavy cream or milk also lactose-free
- salt to taste
- 20 g of breadcrumbs
- 50 g of grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 125 g mozzarella, diced or diced Emmental-type cheese
- 400 g of sausage, mushroom, and pea ragù or vegetables ragù
- butter and breadcrumbs to taste
Instructions
- Place rice into a large saucepan.
- Add salt, grated lemon zest, nutmeg, and milk.
- Cook the rice over a low flame and small heat, stirring often, for about 20 minutes or until the rice is soft and the milk has almost all reduced.
- Then add butter and cream and stir. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Meanwhile, turn on the oven to 190C degrees (374F)
- Now add breadcrumbs, Parmesan, and egg to the rice. Stir to incorporate the ingredients.
- Finally, add the diced mozzarella and mix again.
- Grease the mold, dust it with breadcrumbs, and pour some of the rice so that it covers the bottom and edges of the mold. In the middle of the rice, carve out a space where you will place the ragù. Then, add more rice to cover and close the filling into the rice crown.
- Arrange the mold in a double boiler: the liquid has to arrive halfway up the pan and bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove the mold from the oven, remove it from the water bath, and put the rice bomb back in for another 15 minutes.
- Let rest for 5 minutes before flipping the bomb onto a serving platter and serving.
Food tips
- If you don't have a pudding mold, use the one you have. Simple!
- You can make the rice bomb a day or two in advance and store it in the refrigerator; then reheat it in the oven, in its mold, covering it with aluminum foil.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator for a few days or in the freezer for up to a month.
