Arroz de marisco

Ingredients

Shellfish

• 500 gprawns, shells on
• 500 gclams, purged
• 500 gmussels, cleaned
• 300 gcrab or lobster pieces, optional
• 300 gmonkfish or another firm fish

Stock

• the prawn heads and shells
• 1onion
• 1carrot
• 1bay leaf
• 1.5 litreswater

Refogado

• 2onions, chopped
• 6 clovesgarlic
• 1green pepper
• 4tomatoes, or 400 g tinned
• 3 tbsptomato paste
• 150 mlolive oil
• 150 mlwhite wine

Seasoning

• 1 tbspsweet paprika
• 1piri-piri chilli
• 2bay leaves
• 1large bunch coriander
• salt

Rice

• 400 gcarolino or another short to medium grain rice

To serve

• in the clay pot, with bread and white wine

Directions

1. Use carolino, the Portuguese short to medium grain rice, or another rice that releases starch. Do not rinse it, for the same reason. Peel the prawns and keep every head and shell.
2. Fry them hard in olive oil until deeply coloured, crushing them as they go, then add water, onion, carrot and bay and simmer 20 minutes. A rice made without shell stock tastes of tomato and little else, and this step takes twenty minutes.
3. Strain it, pressing the solids hard. Soak them in cold salted water for a couple of hours, changing the water. Discard any that stay open when tapped. Cook the onions, garlic and pepper slowly in plenty of olive oil for 15 minutes.
4. Add the tomato paste and fry it for 3 minutes until it darkens. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down to a thick base. Now take the pan off the heat before adding the paprika.
5. Add the wine and let it bubble away. Add the rice and the bay and cook, uncovered, at a steady simmer. Stir it occasionally, which helps release the starch. Cook it for about 15 minutes, until the rice is nearly done.
6. Add the fish and crab first, then the mussels and clams, then the prawns last. Everything goes in for the final 5 minutes only. Cover it and let the mussels and clams open in the steam. Discard any that have not opened. It should be distinctly loose, with the rice suspended in plenty of broth.
7. Add more hot stock if it has tightened, and remember it thickens further off the heat and in the bowl. Err on the side of too wet, since it will not stay that way. Taste it and adjust the seasoning. Serve it immediately, in the pot, with bread and a cold white wine. It does not keep or reheat well, since the rice keeps absorbing, so it is made and eaten at once.

Technique

• It is deliberately brothy, which is the opposite of paella.
• Carolino rice releases the starch that thickens the broth.
• It does not reheat, since the rice keeps absorbing.

Substitutions

• Arborio or another risotto rice in place of carolino.
• Any mix of shellfish and firm white fish.

Variations

• Arroz de tamboril, with monkfish.
• With lobster, as a celebration version.
• Made drier, which Portuguese cooks would consider a mistake.

History

A rich, brothy seafood rice dish, combining a variety of shellfish including shrimp, clam and crab with rice cooked in a tomato-based broth, developed along Portugal’s Atlantic coastline, reflecting the country’s long maritime and fishing tradition and its historically abundant access to fresh seafood along its extensive coast. Unlike drier rice dishes such as Spanish paella, arroz de marisco is deliberately kept brothy and loose rather than dry, a distinguishing textural choice reflecting a specifically Portuguese approach to seafood rice that sets it apart from superficially similar dishes in neighboring Spain. It remains one of Portugal’s most beloved and widely eaten seafood dishes, particularly popular in coastal towns and cities with direct access to fresh daily catches.

Frequently asked questions

What is Arroz de marisco?

Arroz de marisco is a main from Portugal: brothy tomato rice loaded with shellfish. A rich, brothy seafood rice dish, combining a variety of shellfish including shrimp, clam and crab with rice cooked in a tomato-based broth, developed along Portugal’s Atlantic coastline, reflecting the country’s long maritime and fishing tradition and its historically abundant access to fresh seafood along its extensive coast. Unlike drier rice dishes such as Spanish paella, arroz de marisco is deliberately kept brothy and loose rather than dry, a distinguishing textural choice reflecting a specifically Portuguese approach to seafood rice that sets it apart from superficially similar dishes in neighboring Spain. It remains one of Portugal’s most beloved and widely eaten seafood dishes, particularly popular in coastal towns and cities with direct access to fresh daily catches.

How long does Arroz de marisco take to make?

Arroz de marisco takes 40 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Arroz de marisco?

Yes, within limits. Arborio or another risotto rice in place of carolino. Any mix of shellfish and firm white fish.

What is the most important thing to get right in Arroz de marisco?

Use carolino, the Portuguese short to medium grain rice, or another rice that releases starch. Do not rinse it, for the same reason. Peel the prawns and keep every head and shell.