Bowl of Rice with Squid & Shrimp
(click to enlarge)

Rice with Squid & Shrimp


Spain - Castellón de la Plana   -   Arrosetxat
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3 main
**
2-2/3 hrs
Yes		 This recipe is entirely worth it, but a bit of a production. Fortunately it can be can be done in steps, even starting several days in advance, through step #9. Leftovers can be reheated in the oven.




1
6
------
14
ar
4
6
2
1
1
1/3
2
1
3
1
5
------
few
3
5
5
2-1/2
2
2
1/4
1-1/2
#
oz
---
oz

oz




t

c
c

oz
---

cl
oz
cl
T
c
t
c
t
Squid small (1)
Shrimp (2)
-- Fish Broth
Fish (3)
Shrimp shells
Onion
Peppercorns
Thyme Sprigs
Bay Leaf
Lemon Slice
Salt
Parsley Sprigs
Clam Juice
Water
Frying Pepper (4)
Tomato
-------------
Saffron Threads (5)
Garlic
Tomato
Garlic (more)
Olive Oil
Rice, short (6)
Paprika (7)
White Wine, dry
Salt

I have made changes from the pattern recipe and traditional Spanish practice for reasons explained in Note-8. This dish was very well liked at a recent buffet party.

Prep   -   (1 hrs 45 min - 1 hr 40 min work)
  1. Clean SQUID, peel skins and cut into about 3/4 inch squares. include tentacles cut free from their base. See Note-1 for instructions.
  2. Shell SHRIMP (reserving the shells for the broth). De-vein and cut into thirds if medium, halves if small and quarters if very large.
  3. Clean your FISH and fillet it. Use the fillets for some other recipe.
  4. Slice Tomato thick. Mix all Broth Items with Fish heads, bones and fins. Bring to a low simmer for about 40 minutes. Strain and de-fat (use your gravy separator). You want to end up with 3-1/2 cups, so add boiled water to make up the difference, or simmer down as needed.
  5. In a mortar or mini-prep processor, mash 3 cl GARLIC with the Saffron Threads. If using the mini-prep you can add 1/4 cup of the Broth to make that possible.
  6. Scald TOMATO 1 minute in boiling water. Quench in cold water, peel, core and chop small.
  7. Crush 5 cl GARLIC and chop fine.
Run   -   (50 min)
  1. In a spacious sauté pan (see Note-8) heat Olive Oil over rather mild flame. Stir in Rice (Do Not rinse the Rice). Fry stirring constantly until rice is a light golden color.
  2. Stir in Squid and Shrimp, the 5 cl Garlic, Tomato and Paprika. Fry stirring constantly until liquid has evaporated and it is back to frying (you'll start getting a little fond sticking to the pan).
  3. Stir in 3-1/2 cups Broth (3-1/4 if 1/4 cup was used for the Saffron mix), the Wine and the Saffron mix. Bring to a boil and cook stirring over moderate heat until the rice is no longer soupy, but there is plenty of water left. Salt to taste.
  4. Here you may choose a method.   My Method is to cover tightly and turn to a bare simmer for 10 minutes. You may uncover once at 8 minutes to check and stir, recovering immediately. Turn off the heat at 10 minutes and let the rice rest for 10 minutes without lifting the lid.   Spanish Method is to place uncovered in an oven preheated to 375°F/190°C for 10 minutes. If all is just right you'll get tender rice with a slightly crispy top. Pull out, cover tightly with foil and let rest 10 minutes.
  5. Serve hot.
NOTES:

  1. Squid:

      These are easily available in most Asian fish markets, particularly Philippine fish markets here in Los Angeles. For details see our Cleaning, Cutting & Cooking Small Squid page.

  2. Shrimp:

      These should be "shell on" so you can use the shells in the fish broth. I suggest using headless shrimp as the heads will result in a rather strong shrimpy flavor and red color. For details see our Shrimp & Prawns page.

  3. Fish:

      The pattern recipe calls for a "small whiting" (a sort of poor man's cod), but we don't have those in Southern California. The closest would probably be a small Pollock, which we do have, but I used a 14 ounce Pompano, with the fillets reserved for another use. For details see our Varieties of Fish page (veeeeery large page).

  4. Frying Pepper:

      These are thin walled, usually yellow-green, not hot peppers, sold here in Los Angeles as Armennian or Hungarian peppers. They are also known as Turkish peppers, but we wouldn't dare call them that here in the Western capital of Armenia. My local produce market didn't have any this week so I used 1/2 an Anaheim pepper with the veins cut out to reduce hotness. For details see our Chilis page.

  5. Saffron:

      The Spanish are rather liberal with Saffron (it is produced there). The pattern recipe calls for 1/8 teaspoon, but that would set you back something like US $7.00 around here, so I call for a more conservative amount.

  6. Rice:

      Do not rinse the rice for Spanish dishes of this sort. Spanish short grain is preferred, but lacking that, Italian, Egyptian or California (Koda Rose or similar) rice will work. Technically, these are all medium grain rice, but popularly called "short grain".

  7. Paprika:

      Use real Spanish or Hungarian Paprika, not that supermarket stuff that has less flavor than sawdust.

  8. Pan and Method:

      The pattern recipe calls for a mild steel paella pan about 18 inches across, but few American households have one of those on hand - and it wouldn't work on our stoves anyway. A large paella pan only works well over a wood fire or a special, very wide gas burner. I use a 3-1/2 quart multi-ply sauté pan. It's deeper, with rather different cooking properties, and coverable, so I modified the cooking sequence some, and skip finishing in the oven. Here in Sunny Southern California we don't fire up an oven unless we really need to. Also, I thought the pattern recipe's sequence of frying the squid and shrimp before the rice wouldn't work well - and it didn't. With Chicken and Beef the Spanish do this, brown the meat, then stir in the rice to brown lightly, but they usually put the squid in later, as I do here. I have made a double recipe in a large, coverable electric skillet, and that worked well.

  9. Prep Times:

      Prep Squid: 25 minutes. You can reduce this to 5 minutes by buying cleaned frozen squid and squid tentacles from an Asian market. Prep Shrimp: 8 min. Prep fish: 25 min.
  10. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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