Biutiful

Last week's movie night featured Biutiful (2010), starring Javier Bardem and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu (who also directed Babel). This one's been on the list since Oscar nominations were released--it was nominated for two: Foreign Language Film and Actor in a Leading Role. Bardem's character, Uxbal, is a single father raising his son and daughter amongst the gritty underworld of modern-day Barcelona. Plauged by prostate cancer, his ex-wife, and some serious guilt, we watched his haunting deterioration.

Our dinner, Dirty Rice, was inspired by the sordid, grimy world Uxbal has surrounded himself with. This was a fantastic recipe--easy, quick, and richly flavorful thanks to the combination of ground pork and shrimp. Typically, Dirty Rice is "dirtied" by chicken giblets, none of which are found here (thankfully). We have yet to approach the world of animal innards when it comes to recipe selection!

DIRTY RICE WITH SHRIMP

serves 4 generously, 6 adequately

adapted from this recipe

Ingredients

1/2 lb ground pork

1 TB cooking oil

1 onion, chopped

2 ribs celery, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 bay leaf

1 3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fresh-ground black pepper

1 1/2 c brown rice

3 c chicken broth

1 lb medium shrimp, shelled and halved

2 scallions, chopped

Directions

In a large saucepan, over moderate heat, brown the pork. Reduce the heat to moderately low and add the oil to the pan. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the cayenne, paprika, oregano, bay leaf, salt, black pepper, and rice. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 50 minutes or until rice is tender.

Raise the heat to moderate and stir in the shrimp. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand, covered, until the rice and shrimp are just done, about 5 minutes longer. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the scallions.

The one thing I might do differently to make the recipe even more appropriate to the movie would be to swap some (or maybe all?) of the pork for a Spanish-style sausage, like chorizo. Adjust the amount of cayenne according to the spice in the sausage since it may not need much extra heat.

As is usual, a multitude of other meal and food options were revealed throughout the movie: pan fried fish, fried eggs, omelet with potatoes (or with apple), sausages, cinnamon custard, cold cereal with milk and sugar, arroz con pollo, spaghetti, tea and bread, mango ice cream (or chocolate or cookies n' cream).