BLACK RICE

This is one of my favourite ways to eat Spanish rice. 

You need: 

- 1 large tomato

- half and onion

- half a red pepper

- 3 'fond d' artichokes' ( you can buy them frozen from Picard) 

- 250 g squid 

- one sachet of squid ink (add two if you want the rice really black)

- around 400 g 'bomba' rice, ideally Calasparra

- salt

- fumet 

- olive oil

Start by preparing the 'fumet', which you can do days in advance (see the recipe for 'arroz a banda http://www.mumandsons.com/2018/09/arroz-banda.html) 

Fry the tomato (no need to add oil) in a small pan until it gets mushy, almost liquid.

Separately fry the onion, pepper and artichokes (all cut into small cubes) over very low heat with a table spoon of olive oil for 8-10 minutes until it is all soft.

Cut the squid into small pieces. Take a paella pan, and fry the squid with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for 3-4 minutes (be careful because they 'spit') then add the rice (a handful per person) the ink, three tablespoons of the tomato pure and three  tablespoons of the onion, peppers and artichokes mixture. Stir it for a minute or so, then add the fumet (for each volume or rice, three times the volume of fumet).

Let it bubble over intense heat for 8 minutes. Then lower the heat and wait for another 8 minutes. Finally  add a tiny drizzle of oil all around the edge of the pan and increase the heat for 3 minutes. This is to create what is called 'socarrat', which is only possible if you add fat to the rice.

This is delicious with ali-oli: http://www.mumandsons.com/2018/09/saffron-ali-oli.html

ARROZ A BANDA

This is very similar to a paella, but without any of the paella distractions: no need to peel prawns,  open mussels, suck bones, clams or anything like that.  It is typical from the area of Alicante, where I spent most of the summer holidays during my childhood. The chef that cooks this best in Spain is Maria Jose San Roman from the wonderful restaurant Monastrell in Alicante. This recipe is slightly adapted from one of hers. If you are into cooking rice watch her videos in You Tube - she is not only a superb chef but also a great defender of cooking simply and focussing on the a quality of products, which I totally agree with.

You need: 

- 2 large tomatos

- half and onion

- half a red pepper

- 2 ñoras - or alternatively a teaspoon of sweet paprika

- 3 cloves of garlic

- 7 prawns

- 300 g squid 

- around 400 g 'bomba' rice, ideally Calasparra

- salt

- fumet: made with fish bones (a couple of bones of flat fish) and a litre of water. You can get a huge amount of fish bones for very little money - indeed most fishmongers would normally give it to you for free) 

- saffron 

- olive oil

Start by preparing the 'fumet' (which I normally prepare well in advance and freeze): roast the fishbones, a tomato cut into quarters and two cloves of garlic with a couple of table spoons of olive oil at 250 degrees. It takes around 40 minutes until the fish bones are brown with black edges. Put it all in a big pan with two litres of water and boil for 2 hours (or just 20 minutes in you do this with a express cooker) 

Separately, fry the ñoras and remaining clove of garlic with a tablespoon of oil, blend it and reserve it. If you are not using ñoras just grate the garlic and mix it with the tablespoon of paprika.

Fry the tomato (no need to add oil) in a small pan until it gets mushy, almost liquid.

Finally fry the onions and peppers (both cut into small cubes) over very low heat with a table spoon of olive oil for 18-10 minutes until the peppers are soft and the onions translucent.

Up to this point you can prepare it all well in advance or even the previous day.

45 minutes before you are going to eat, boil a little bit of water (half a glass), add the saffron and let it infuse. 

Cut the squid and prawns into small pieces. Take a paella pan, fry the prawns until they get pink with a tablespoon of oil (one or two minutes) take them out and reserve. In the same oil fry the squid for 3-4 minutes, then add the rice (a handful per person) a tablespoon of the ñora or paprika mixture, three tablespoons of the tomato pure and three to four tablespoons of the onion and peppers mixture. Stir it for a minute or so, then add the saffron liquid (put it through a colander to get rid of  the saffron stems). Finally add the fumet (for each volume or rice, three times the volume of fumet).

Let it bubble over high heat for 8 minutes. Then lower the heat and wait for another 8 minutes. Finally (and take note because this is a secret trick) add a tiny drizzle of oil all around the edge of the pan and increase the heat for 3 minutes. This is to create what is called 'socarrat', the burn bit at the bottom of the paella, which is something that every Spaniard would fight for at the table.

The key to any Spanish rice dish is not to overcomplicate it with too many ingredients. And to be really precise about timing. As soon as the rice is done you need to eat it immediately or it will become 'pasado' (mushy)... yuck...       

RICE WITH VEGETABLES

This is a good way to prepare a lunch for the family on a budget. You need:

- an onion (diced)
- a red pepper (diced)
- a carrot (diced)
- 3 or 4 florets of broccoli (cut into bite size portions)
- half a courgette (diced)
- a couple of handfuls of frozen peas
NB.-except for the onion, the vegetables above are purely indicative, just use any leftovers you have in the fridge: beans, courgettes, green peppers, yellow peppers, butternut squash…

- a pinch of saffron  (if you do not have this of cannot afford it try yellow powdered food colorant instead, which is what most Spanish people use for paellas)
- a clove of garlic (do not peel it)
- half a lemon
- a pinch of parsley (chopped)
- salt
- a bay leaf
-3 tablespoons of olive oil
 - 400 gr rice (either the '10 minutes cooking' long rice that most supermarkets now sell or the normal long rice american variety)

Heat the oil in a shallow wide pan (medium heat). Add the onion, wait for a couple of minutes, then add the peppers and carrot and toss it all for a minute more or less. Add the other vegetables and parsley, reduce the heat and let it all fry for 6-7 minutes until the vegetables start burning on the edges.  Then add the half a lemon (with the flesh side down), wait for a minute and add the unpeeled clove of garlic. Add the rice and let it all fry for a minute or two. Add 580 ml of hot water, but before you add it put a bit of the hot water in a cup and dissolve the saffron or colorant in it. Add all the water to the rice. Add the salt and a bay leaf and let it all simmer for 10 minutes if you are using the 'fast rice' variety or 20 minutes if you are using normal rice. When all the water has evaporated take the pan off the heat and cover with a clean kitchen towel for a couple of minutes so that the rice rests. Discard the lemon and open the garlic clove (which should have become a garlic paste that you can mix with the rice) before serving it. Serve it with lemon wedges and if you wish with a  bit of mayonnaise mixes with a tiny but of grated garlic (which makes a fake 'alioli').

RICE PUDDING/ARROZ CON LECHE

Lots of countries have a version of rice pudding. This one comes from the north of Spain.
You need:

- 1 l of milk (preferably full fat). And then around 350 ml more.
- 200 gr rice (the round variety, such as bomba' or 'arborio')
- rind of one lemon
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 125 gr sugar

Wash the rice thoroughly. In a pan heat the milk (1 l) , cinnamon stick and lemon rind until the milk boils. As soon as you see the bubbles add the rice.  Lower the heat as much as you can and let it all simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the sugar and simmer for another 25 minutes. You need to stir it often from the moment you put in the rice, as otherwise it will stick to the pan. During the last 25 minutes keep adding bits of milk every time you stir it, especially if the mixture is too dry and it is starting to stick to the pan (we use 350 ml for this because the children like it creamy, but you may be able to do it with less milk). Put it into small bowls and let it set for at least half an hour. We serve it with a bit of cinnamon (very little) sprinkled on top. You can also cover it with sugar and caramelise it with a torch (this is how they do it in Asturias, which claims to have the best 'arroz con leche'  in Spain). You can keep this in the fridge for a couple of days (cover it with cling film) - take it out of the fridge for 30 minutes or so before serving it.  

Children find it very easy to help with this. It is indeed very handy to have them around  so that you can take turns with the regular stirring.

PAELLA

We are in Spain for a few days, so the kids are now cooking with their granny and various aunts, all of whom cook much better than me. With so many people in the kitchen the kids are not doing much, but at least they are learning by watching while they mess around.

We will have an 'all Spanish theme' for the days to come and we thought the best way to start this is with a paella. I never cook paella, but it is one of my mother's signature dishes.

There are many ways to prepare paella and you can try various combinations that should all work well (all chicken; all vegetable, all fish, fish and meat, fish and chicken, all chicken, squid and veggies...). Two main things to avoid though: do not cover the paella with herbs (nobody does this in Spain); and never, just never, put chorizo in the paella (I cannot explain why, but it is simply not right)

You will need:
olive oil
one onion diced
half a green pepper and a red pepper diced
two gloves of garlic ( unpeeled)
1/2 tomato (preferably peeled) diced
100 gr Spanish ham diced into small cubes
a handful of frozen peas
10-15 clams
1 squid (or 6-7 frozen squid rings) chopped into small bits
1 mussel per person
1 slice of chewy fish (tuna, conger or monkfish) chopped into cubes
12 raw prawns
1/2 tsp parsley chopped thinly
500 gr rice (we normally use a handful of rice per person and one more for the pan). The rice should be round, not long. In some Spanish shops you can find Calasparra rice - this is the 'pata negra' of the rices.
water
1 bay leave
lemon
saffron (three to five stems)
salt
A bill shallow pan or paella dish

Boil water ( 2 glasses) in a pan, add the clams, cover the pan with a lid and let it all boil for just a minute. Take the pan off the heat, sieve the water through a colander and reserve it. Discard any clams that have not opened up. Repeat the same process with the mussles.

Peel the prawns and boil the fish bone and the shells of the prawns for around 10-15 minutes. Sieve the water and reserve it. Discard the fish-bone and the shells.

Cover the pan in olive oil (1 cm depth more or less) and heat it (medium heat). Fry the onion, peppers, tomato and garlic (in this order) for 5 minutes. Then add the ham, the parsley and the bay leave, reduce the heat and and keep cooking it for another 5-7 minutes until the whole things becomes soft, slightly translucent and gooey. Increase the heat to medium, add the squid and then the fish and keep cooking it all for another 5 minutes. Finally add the prawns, the peas and half a lemon (whole, not diced). Keep frying it until the prawns take a coral colour and the lemon gets brownish.

Then add  the rice and the salt and move it all a little bit with a spoon. After a couple of minutes (when the rice starts getting translucent) add the water of the clams and the fish bone and shells.  Dissolve the saffron into half a glass of boiling water and add it to the pan. You should end up with 1 cm of water on top of the rice, so add more water if needed until you reach this amount. Let it all bubble and cook for 18-20 minutes. If you wish you can do this last step in the oven  (preheated at 200 degrees). As soon as you add the water to the rice you should not touch the rice anymore or you will end up with a sticky mess rather than fluffy rice.

Five to eight minutes before you take the pan off the heat add the clams  and the mussels (see picture below). 

Take the dish off the heat, cover with a clean cloth and let it rest for 2-3 minutes. The rice should be a bit 'al dente'.  Serve immediately.

FAKE RISOTTO

This takes no time at all. Very nice side dish for white fish.
You need:
- one onion cut thinly
-butternut squash in small cubes (around 250 gr for 4 people, though this is just indicative)
-rice (any rice will do, even long grain, no need to bother with expensive arborio rice). You need a small (coffee) cup per person.
- water: two (coffee) cups per person ( i.e. twice the volume of rice)
- a little bit of olive oil
- salt
- a bay leave
-optional: a nob of butter; a tablespoon of creme fraiche; parmesan cheese.

Heat the oil in a pan over moderate heat. Add the onion and butternut squash and fry it all for 7-10 minutes until the edges start getting darker. Then add the rice and fry it (without any water) for another 2-3 minutes, stirring it regularly. Now add the water ( it should produce a nice sizzling sound) the salt and the bay leaf. Stir it all a couple of times just to break the coat of the rice and simply wait for the amount of time indicated in the rice packet (most rices now need only10 minutes).  When it is ready take it off the heat, cover it with a clean cloth and wait for a couple of minutes before serving it. If you wish you can add (just before covering it) a nob of butter, or a spoon of creme fraiche or some parmesan cheese (or any combination of these three), though kids would barely notice the difference.

Rice is a nice dish for the children to cook as it almost always comes out great. They like stirring the rice but be careful with the hot water.