RECIPE - Rice with Dried Peaches (Arroz com Origone)

This side-dish of sweetened, spiced rice flavored with origone, the traditional dried and pressed peach preparation of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil's southernmost state, is served in its home territory along side a main course of poultry, or less often red meat. Combining the savory flavor of meat with the sweetness of dried fruits is a culinary tradition that the Moors brought to the Iberian peninsula during the 700 years that they occupied that territory, and was then brought to South America by Spanish and Portuguese explorers and colonizers.

This dish, although meant to be served as an accompaniment to a main course of meat, is quite sweet. This is not unusual for the Brazilian palate, which loves combining sweet and salty flavors, and which has a tolerance for extremely sweet dishes. The quantity of sugar called for in this recipe, an authentic gaúcho dish, is large - 1 cup. To my taste, the dish is more pleasing with a much-reduced quantity of sugar, about 1/4 of what's called for in the dish. Feel free to limit the amount of sugar if you wish - the result will still be delicious, and the flavor of the peaches will be highlighted, a small price to pay for a loss of authenticity, I think.

I like to serve this with roast chicken, but I'm sure it would go well with lamb stews, pot roasts or even with grilled sausages. The recipe calls for origone, which are pressed as well as dried, but common dried peaches work well. I would think that dried apricot could successfully be substituted as well, but cannot vouch for that.
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RECIPE - Rice with Dried Peaches (Arroz com Origone)

1/4 lb (100 gr) origone (or dried peaches or apricots)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
4 cups of boiling water
1 cup dark brown sugar
5 whole cloves
1 cup white rice
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
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Wash the origone or dried peaches in running water, then place in large glass or ceramic mixing bowl. Pour over 4 cups of boiling water, then let stand for at least one hour. Remove the peaches, reserving the water in which they were reconstituted. Let the peaches cool, then cut into small cubes. Reserve.

Put the 1/4 cup sugar in a medium pan, then heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Do not let it burn. Remove from heat, then carefully add the reserved water - the sugar will sputter when the water is added. Then add the reserved peaches and cloves, bring to a boil, and let boil gently for about 15 minute or until the peaches are cooked and soft.

Add the rice, and with the pan partially covered, let cook until most of the water is absorbed and the rice is tender. Add the butter and the additional sugar, plus one cup of boiling water, and let cook, uncovered, until all the liquid is absorbed and rice is dry. Remove from heat, cover the pan, and let stand for 10 minutes.

Put the rice into a lightly buttered mold, press down, then unmold onto a serving platter. Serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS - Origone

A popular food from the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, origone are a form of pressed, dried peaches. Rio Grande do Sul is much less tropical than most of Brazil, lying in the temperate climate zone, so fruits that are cultivated in North America and Europe, like peaches, cherries, apples and grapes, can be grown there and nowhere else in Brazil. In most of Brazil there is not enough of a cool-weather season to generate the period of dormancy that these fruits require. In Rio Grande do Sul, on the other hand, there is a distinct winter season, with occasional snow at higher altitudes, and so temperate-climate fruits flourish.

The culture of Rio Grande do Sul has always been influenced by the culture of its neighboring Spanish-speaking countries, Uruguay and Argentina. To this day, inhabitants of Rio Grande do Sul are called gaúchos, the name given to the cowboys of the pampas throughout southern South America. The Portuguese name for these dried peaches, origone, derives from the Spanish word orejón meaning "big ear." When I was a kid I used to call dried apricots and peaches "dried ears" - the resemblance was clear to me. I guess that I wasn't the only to notice that resemblance.

Origone has a long history in the southern part of Brazil. In early times, drying fruit in the sun was a common and reliable way to preserve the bounty of the harvest for eating later in the year. The gauchos were often away from their homes for much of the year, herding cattle on the treeless expanses of the pampas. They had to carry much of their foodstuffs along with them and origone was light and easy to carry and store. The concentrated sugar and vitamins in these dried fruits also made them a valuable nutritive source when fresh fruits were not an option..

What once was made and eaten out of necessity became a food habit in Rio Grande do Sul, and origone is now considered one of the regions traditional ingredients. Although origone is delicious eaten "as is", it's more often reconstituted by cooking and eaten as a sweet dessert, or part of a savory dish of rice or meat. However it's eaten, it's symbolic of Rio Grande do Sul, and of that state's gaúcho culture.