The first thing that comes to mind when foreigners think about Spanish food is the almighty paella, but, while arguably a perfect dish, my favorites are variations like the fideuà or arròs negre, which pass under the radar and so keep the quality of well-kept secrets. This recipe is taken from a book from the most famous Catalan cook, Ferran Adrià.
Arròs Negre (Black Paella)
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Naoise
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Spanish
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- A big squid
- 5 cups of rice for paella
- 12 cups of fish broth
- 2 tbsp of squid ink, diluted in a bit of warm water
For the sauté
- 420 gr. of grated tomato
- 1 big onion
- 2 small cloves of garlic
- Thyme, rosemary, bay leaf
- Salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the “green paste”
- 3 or 4 parsley branches
- A handful of hazelnuts
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
Preparation of the sauté
- Chop garlic and onion and sauté for 10 min. in olive oil.
- Add a tsp of thyme, a tsp of rosemary and 2 bay leafs. Stir carefully.
- Finally add the tomato and salt and cook on low fire for 20 min.
- Let cool and process to obtain an homogeneous paste.
Preparation of the paste
- Hand-blend the parsley and hazelnuts together.
- Add olive oil while you blend to create a green thick paste.
Preparation of the paella
- Cut the squid into small squares and stir-fry in a paella at medium heat for 1 or 2 min.
- Add 6 tbps of the sauté, stir and cook for 10 min. Add water if necessary so it doesn’t get stick.
- Slowly add the rice whitout ceasing to stir. Cover with broth and bring up to a boil, then let it simmer at medium heat for 8 min.
- Add 3 tbsp of the green paste, salt to taste, the ink and mix.
- Let cook at medium-low heat for 20 min without stiring. Add a bit of broth if it dries out too soon.
- Once the rice is cooked, let it sit for a few minutes before serving.
- Enjoy with a bit of allioli on the side!