Mi Desayuno: Morcillas con Arroz y Chocolate Espeso

The title of this post is: My Breakfast: Morcillas con Arroz and Hot Chocolate.

This, dear SybDive readers, is what I had for breakfast the other day: a good, piping-hot, heaping plate of morcillas con arroz over at Dulcinea.

Before anyone scoffs and says this is just a glorified take on the usual long-si (longganiza’t sinangag – native sausages and rice fried with garlic) combo, I would like to state quite clearly that morcillas are not the usual Filipino’s sausages. Morcillas, you see, are known in French cuisine as boudins noir and in British cookery as blood pudding. Yes, these sausages are filled with a mixture of coagulated pork blood and chunks of pork fat and loin. Think of it as dinuguan (pork blood stew) – only made more savory with the addition of garlic – in a casing.

The rice is fried in olive oil, sauteed with garlic, chopped morcilla, and sweet white onions. It is then topped with raw onion rings and more sliced morcilla.

This is a most savory way to start one’s day; the dish is filling but not so much that one feels overly sated and sleepy. The rice was properly fried and, despite the olive oil and the lard oozing from the sausages, was none too greasy. The chewiness of the rice was made more interesting by the mingled flavors of savory pork and sweet onion. The garlic, alas, was somewhat muted. I suspect that they use the large white cloves from Taiwan; the garlicky flavor was a tad mild.

I know people who would probably enjoy this with a cup of good strong coffee, but I would rather have it with this:

Una tazita de chocolate espeso – a demitasse cup of rich, thick Spanish hot chocolate. Muy bien? Si!