RICE "ON THE SIDE"

Last week, after filleting a whole corvina, I saved the head, bones and trimmings to make fish stock. Usually I stash stock in the freezer, ready for making one of my favorite Spanish fish soups. This time I decided to use that pot of concentrated flavor for a Spanish rice dish that’s not paella.

Flavorful rice and not much else.

Arroz abanda (in Alicante lingo, it’s arròs a banda) means rice “on the side.” It’s sort of like paella but without all the baroque trimmings. Originally it was a simple fisherman’s dish cooked on board a trawler. Some of the day’s catch was boiled in a pot, then skimmed out. Rice was added to cook in the tasty broth. The rice was served first, followed by the boiled fish.

The dish has since achieved near-cult status, especially in the provincial city of Alicante, where the rice is usually prepared in a paella pan instead of a fisherman’s kettle. It can be served in solitary splendor as a starter or as a side dish with fish cooked simply. A pungent alioli (garlic sauce) is the only accompaniment.

The success of arroz abanda depends on starting with a flavor-packed fish stock. You’ll find a basic recipe here. Use small, whole fish; trimmings from larger fish; crustacean shells; clam or mussel juices.

About Spanish rice. Spanish rice, the kind used for paella, is a round-grained, medium-short variety. Spanish rice has a white perla (pearl), where the starch is concentrated. Its great virtue is as a flavor conductor, soaking up the savory juices with which the rice cooks—olive oil sofrito, chicken, rabbit or seafood,  saffron. Spanish (often called “Valencian”) rice is similar to Italian varieties used for risotto. But the cooking method is totally different. Risotto is stirred to develop the creamy starch. Paella rice, cooked “dry,” is never stirred, as stirring would break up the starch kernel.

Bomba is one of several varieties of rice grown in Spain (it may be from the region called Calasparra). Bomba rice is especially esteemed for caldoso (soupy) and meloso, juicy, rice dishes because the kernel of starch doesn’t burst open and make the rice sticky. Bomba rice is absolutely not necessary for paella.

But, for this recipe, if possible use the bomba variety of rice because it will absorb more of that flavorful fish stock (use triple the volume of liquid to rice). If using varieties other than bomba, decrease the quantity of stock, using approximately double the volume of liquid to rice.

Ñoras are small dried peppers.

The traditional recipe calls for the pulp of a ñora, a bittersweet dried red pepper, the same pepper used to make pimentón (paprika). If not available, substitute a spoonful of sweet pimentón, stirred with a little water to make a paste. Saffron is optional; it adds that vibrant golden color.

Fry shrimp shells for flavor.

In addition to the fish stock, this recipe also calls for flavoring the cooking oil with shrimp shells and heads. If you haven’t got heads and shells, just omit this step. And, instead of a sofrito of chopped vegetables, it calls for a picada of tomatoes, ñora, garlic and parsley crushed in a mortar or blender.

Arroz Abanda
Rice on the Side

A few shrimp and pieces of squid for a tasty rice dish.

Serves 6 as a starter or side dish.

2 ñoras (or 2 teaspoons pimentón)
¼ cup boiling water
12 ounces small unpeeled shrimp (or 6 ounces peeled)
2 small tomatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic
Small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
6 ounces squid, cut in rings
Pinch of saffron threads (optional)
2 cups medium-short rice, preferably bomba variety
5 ½-6 cups fish stock, heated
Alioli (garlic mayonnaise) to serve

Remove stem and seeds from the ñoras. Place one of them in a small bowl and add boiling water. Allow to soak 30 minutes.

Peel the shrimp, reserving both the bodies and the heads and shells.

Ingredients for a picada to flavor the rice.

Make the picada. Open the soaked ñora and, with the side of a spoon, scoop the pulp from the skin. Discard the skin and add the pulp to a mortar or blender. (Add the soaking liquid to the stock pot.) Add the tomatoes, garlic, parsley and ½ teaspoon salt to the pulp of the ñora. Crush or blend to make a smooth paste.

Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a paella pan, cazuela or skillet. Add the reserved shrimp heads and shells. Sautée until shells turn pink. Skim out the heads and shells and discard them, reserving the oil.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan. Add the remaining ñora and fry it on all sides. Remove the ñora and reserve. Add the tomato-garlic paste to the pan and sautée, stirring. Add the squid rings and the saffron threads.

Stir in the rice and let it sautée a few minutes. Add the hot stock. Cook the rice on a high heat for 8 minutes. Taste and add additional salt if needed. Stir in the reserved shrimp. Return the fried ñora to the pan, placing it in the center of the rice. Lower the heat and cook until rice is cooked, 15-18 minutes longer. Let the rice set 5 minutes before serving. Serve accompanied by alioli.

Serve rice with alioli--garlic mayonnaise.

Alioli
Garlic Mayonnaise

This is not a true alioli, which is an emulsion of crushed garlic and olive oil. But this simplified version is quick and delicious.

½ cup bottled mayonnaise
1-2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt, if needed

Place the mayonnaise, garlic, oil and lemon juice in a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste and add salt if necessary. Keeps, refrigerated, up to 1 week.

CAN'T QUIT WITH THE SQUID!

Paella from the dark side, with squid ink.

I couldn’t leave the squid chronicles without making one of my favorite recipes—arroz negro—a sort of paella with squid and other shellfish in which the rice is tinted black with squid ink.

Sachets of cuttlefish ink.

Last week I was unhappy with my rendition of Squid in Its Own Ink—not black enough. So this time, I bought several packets of frozen cuttlefish ink to add to the ink from the squid. Each sachet contains 4 grams (0.14 ounce) of ink with a thickening agent, so it squeezes out like a ghastly black gel. It did the trick. This rice was black!

Apparently, black rice isn’t always colored with ink. Back in 1995, when I got my first computer modem, I soon logged on to CompuServe’s Spanish Forum, Food and Wine section, and met—on line—quite a few people who shared my interests in Spanish cooking. Jordi, a Catalan, was one. He was a great source of recipes.

Jordi wrote with passion about how Catalan black rice was not made with ink, but with great patience in making the sofrito, the slow, slow “frying” of onions, garlic and tomatoes--until the point “you’re scared they’re going to burn.” Then you add a little water and repeat the process, over and over, until the sofrito is nearly black. His version of black rice includes, besides squid (but no ink), chicken, pork ribs and jumbo shrimp.

Pour red or rosé wine with this rice and shellfish dish.

I like Jordi’s black rice, yet here I include a version typical of Valencia and Alicante--with the black ink to color the rice. In it’s original version, the rice is made with tiny cuttlefish, sautéed whole, which release their ink in cooking. However, the dish is much more likely to be made with squid because it’s so widely available.

This rice dish can be made in a paella pan or a cazuela. The procedure is similar to that for making paella. Use white paella rice, a round, medium-short grain, or substitute Italian arborio.

Arroz Negro con Calamares y Mariscos
Black Rice with Squid and Shellfish

Serves 6-8 as a starter or 4 as a main dish.

Ingredients for black rice.

12 mussels, scrubbed and steamed open, liquid reserved
5 cups fish or shellfish stock
1 large squid (3/4 pound) or 6-8 small ones
3-4 sachets of cuttlefish ink
½ pound monkfish fillets
¼  cup olive oil
6 whole jumbo shrimp
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 teaspoons pimentón
2 cups Spanish medium-short grain rice
Salt and pepper
Alioli (garlic sauce), to serve

Discard empty mussel shells. Reserve mussels. Strain the liquid and add it to the fish stock. Place the fish stock in a pan ready to be heated.

Clean the squid, reserving the ink sacs, tentacles and wing flaps. If using large squid, cut the body pouch into rings. Leave small ones whole. Pat the squid dry on paper towels.

Put the ink sacs from the squid in a small bowl and add ¼ cup of water to it. Mash the ink sac to release the ink. Squeeze in the contents of ink sachets, if using. Set aside.

Cut the monkfish into 1 ½ -inch chunks.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch cazuela or paella pan until quite hot. Sauté the shrimp, about 2 minutes per side, until they are pink and slightly curled. Remove the shrimp and reserve them.

Add the squid and their tentacles and wings to the oil and sauté for 2 minutes. (Take care, as the squid is likely to spatter in the oil.) Then add the onion and garlic. Continue cooking on a high heat.

Add the pieces of monkfish and cook another minute on a high heat. Then stir in the tomatoes and pimentón. Continue cooking 5 minutes more.

Bring the reserved stock to a boil.

Stir the rice into the cazuela and cook 1 minute. Then stir in 4 cups of boiling fish broth. Cook 5 minutes on a high heat.

Use a small sieve to strain the ink mixture into the rice. Stir to mix it well. Lower the heat and cook the rice 10 minutes more. Add the remaining cup of stock. Arrange the cooked mussels and shrimp on the top of the rice. Don’t stir it again. Cook 5 minutes more.

Remove from heat and allow to rest 10 minutes. The rice continues to cook from the heat of the cazuela.

Serve the rice with alioli garlic sauce.

Serve the black rice with alioli (garlic mayonnaise).

Alioli
Garlic Mayonnaise
   
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 egg, at room temperature
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
½  teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Put the garlic and egg in a blender and pulse until garlic is finely chopped. With the motor running, pour in the oil in a slow trickle, allowing it to be absorbed by the egg before adding more. Blend in all the oil. The sauce will emulsify and thicken. Blend in the salt and lemon juice.

The sauce will keep, refrigerated, for up to 2 days. Makes 1 cup of sauce.