Arroz Caldero del Mar Menor

Arroz Caldero del Mar Menor is Murcian, from the fishing towns around that shallow lagoon, and it is not a paella wearing another hat. The rice is cooked in a deep fish broth stained with dried ñora pepper, garlic, and tomato, then served first with allioli. The fish comes after, dressed with a little of the same broth. Two turns, one pot. Tal como se hace allí.

The method that decides it is the broth. You fry the ñoras and garlic gently, never black, then pound them into a picada, the paste that carries their flavour through the stock. Rush that or scorch the ñora and the whole pot turns bitter. Let the rockfish give itself to the water, strain it well, and cook the rice in that broth until the grains are tender and separate, not creamy and not dry as a Valencian paella.

If you are far from the Mar Menor, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use Calasparra or bomba rice if you can; a good short-grain rice works, but it will drink differently, so watch the pot and keep hot broth nearby. For the fish, choose firm white fish and bones from a fishmonger: sea bream, red mullet, gurnard, monkfish bones, whatever is clean and fresh. Pésalo, no lo adivines. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.