Arroz Caldoso de Bogavante Alicantino

Arroz caldoso de bogavante is Alicantino, from the rice country around Alicante, where the broth matters as much as the grain. This is not a paella with extra liquid. It is a spoon rice, loose and glossy, with lobster giving sweetness to a fish fumet and salmorreta, the Alicante base of ñora, garlic, tomato, and oil, doing the quiet work underneath.

The method that decides it is the broth-to-rice balance. Bomba rice can drink a lot and still hold its shape, but caldoso must stay soupy at the table, not tighten into a dry arroz while everyone waits for plates. Keep the fumet hot, add enough of it, and stop when the rice is just tender with a little heart left. It finishes in the bowl. Rush the sofrito or starve the pan of broth and you lose the dish.

If you are far from Alicante, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use good fish stock made with prawn shells or white fish bones, and if bogavante is impossible, use a firm raw lobster tail with shell, or large langoustines. The flavour will be a little less deep in the claws and head, but it will still be honest if the fumet is strong and the rice is right. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.