In this recipe it is proposed to cook a traditional fisherman’s rice with a certain amount of Romesco base mince. A red rice is obtained in which the slightly spicy touch of Romesco will give the dish a delicious aromatic tone.
Ingredients for 6 people:
• 2 fried dried ancho peppers (see the section How to fry dried ancho peppers for Romesco recipes).
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled.
• 1 small peri-peri chilli (expendable).
• 1 sprig parsley, finely chopped (if you have it).
• 10 almonds and 10 hazelnuts. Better if they are roasted, not raw, fried or salty. They must be peeled one by one from the fine dark skin that covers them (blanched).
• 100 g of fresh grated tomato.
• 600 g of rice of a certain quality (for example, arroz bomba).
• 500 g of clean sliced squid.
• 500 g of monkfish cleaned and cut into bite-sized pieces.
• 1 glass of white wine.
• 150 ml of extra virgin olive oil.
• 6 norway lobsters.
• 100 g of red pepper and 100 grs. green pepper, both finely chopped.
• 300 g of japanese clam.
• 1.7 l of intense fish stock.
Preparation.
Preparation of the romesco base mix:
• Prepare the small chilli by cutting the upper part and emptying it of seeds.
• Add the parsley, the garlic cloves, the chilli, the tomato, the almonds and hazelnuts and the wine glass to the mixer and mix well. The wine serves mainly to dilute the Romesco mix so that the blender can work, so the right amount of wine is added to achieve it. Since this recipe uses striped tomatoes, it could be that the necessary amount of wine to add is minimal.
• We also add the fried dried ancho peppers one by one, and reduce everything to a fine paste with the mixer.
Preparation of the dish:
• In this recipe we are going to use a 32 cm non-stick casserole. in diameter, although others can be used. Add 150 ml of extra virgin olive oil to the casserole and fry the minced Romesco base for about two minutes, stirring constantly so that it does not stick. Then we add the squid and sauté for another ten minutes so that it loses the water.
• Add the chopped green and red peppers and fry for only two minutes.
• Add the rice and mix everything.
• Add the broth very hot and carefully.
• After ten minutes of boiling over medium heat, distribute the clams and monkfish.
• After another five minutes we add the norway lobsters in a circle.
• Cook the rice for another three minutes (a total of 18 minutes for this type of rice).
• We turn off and let it rest covered for five minutes.
Variations and tips.
Naturally this dish is very flexible and can be adapted to everyone’s taste. Here are some variations that can be addressed, plus some recommendations:
• Monkfish can be substituted for another type of clean, sliced fish, or the fish can be dispensed with.
• In this case a bomba rice has been used, although other kinds of rice can be used. It is worth it that the rice is round and of a certain quality, because after all the rice will be the protagonist of the dish and, on the other hand, quality rice is easier to cook just right. In any case, it is interesting to respect the amounts of broth and cooking times for each rice used, data that are usually written on the packaging of each rice.
• Normally the rice takes about 15-20 minutes to cook. The first five minutes usually use a high heat and the rest of the time a medium or medium/low heat as the rice cooks. The rice bomb used in this recipe takes 18 minutes to make.
• Despite the amount of broth recommended on the package for each rice, it may be necessary to add a little more broth (or water) during cooking. This happens when it is seen that the rice is getting dry and, however, the required cooking time has not yet finished, since depending on the characteristics of the casserole and the strength of the fire, the water evaporates more or less quickly. As mentioned above, in this case the extra broth or water should be added very sparingly and always very hot.
• In general, rice dishes are better in wide and large pans, so that the thickness of the cooked rice is the minimum possible, this being one of the keys to Valencian paella. If the thickness of the cooked rice is large, the grains at the bottom can be passed through.
• Some people wash the rice before adding it to the casserole, as this removes part of the starch, making the washing water slightly cloudy. To do this, simply put the rice in a large strainer and leave it under the tap for a few seconds.
• It is possible to add a little freshly ground black pepper to seafood rice during cooking, something that always adds a special touch.
• If you want to give the rice a soupy finish, a very practical solution can be to reserve a certain amount of fish stock, to add it very hot in each of the dishes just before serving them. In this way we can offer dry rice, broth or just a little broth; to the taste of each diner.
