Arroz Negro Caldoso con Chipirones

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide low cazuela or heavy pan, 30 to 32cm
• •Small saucepan for keeping stock hot
• •Mortar and pestle for allioli
• •Box grater for tomato

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the allioli

   Put the 2 garlic cloves for the allioli and a good pinch of salt in a mortar and pound them to a smooth paste. Add the 150ml mild olive oil drop by drop at first, turning the pestle without stopping, then in a thin thread once it begins to thicken. Stir in the lemon juice or sherry vinegar only if you want a sharper edge. If it splits, put 1 teaspoon room-temperature water in a clean bowl and whisk the broken sauce into it by drops. Nadie nace sabiendo.

   A strong, peppery oil can make allioli bitter. Use a mild olive oil here and save the sharper one for finishing salads.
2. 2

   Ink the stock

   Bring the fish stock to a low simmer in a saucepan. Take out about 150ml, whisk in the squid ink until smooth, then return it to the saucepan and keep the stock hot. The ink needs to cook in the rice, not be stirred in raw at the end, or it tastes harsh and flat.

3. 3

   Sear the chipirones

   Pat the chipirones dry. Heat 30ml of the olive oil in a wide low cazuela or heavy pan over medium-high heat, add the squid with a pinch of salt, and sear for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the edges curl and the liquid they release nearly cooks away. Lift them to a plate, juices and all. Do this in two batches if the pan is crowded.

4. 4

   Build the sofrito

   Lower the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 15ml olive oil, the onion, and the green pepper. Cook 12 to 15 minutes with a pinch of salt, stirring often, until soft and darkening. Add the chopped garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the grated tomato and the ñora flesh or paste, then cook 15 to 20 minutes more, until the mixture is thick, dark, and almost sticky, with the oil showing at the edges. Pull the pan off the heat, stir in the pimentón, and put it back on low heat for 30 seconds. Don't scorch the pimentón; bitter pimentón announces itself and nobody invited it.

   If the tomatoes are pale and watery, use good canned crushed tomato. A practical kitchen takes sweetness where it can get it.
5. 5

   Coat the rice

   Add the rice to the sofrito and stir for 1 minute, until every grain is stained and glossy. Pour in 1.25 liters of the hot black stock, keeping the remaining 250ml hot beside the stove. Stir once to spread the rice evenly, then bring it to a lively simmer.

6. 6

   Cook it loose

   Cook uncovered for 12 minutes, keeping the bubbles active but not violent. Stir gently once or twice around the edges, not constantly; this is arroz caldoso, not risotto. Return the chipirones and their juices to the pan and cook 4 to 6 minutes more, until the rice is tender with a small firm heart and the broth is still loose. Add the reserved hot stock by the ladle whenever the rice starts to look thick. Taste before salting hard, because stock and ink can carry plenty of salt.

7. 7

   Rest and serve

   Take the pan off the heat and rest it for 3 minutes, no longer. The rice should move when you draw a spoon through it; if it sits stiff, add another ladle of hot stock and shake the pan gently. Serve in shallow bowls with a spoon of allioli on each one, left pale on the black rice so each person can pull it through at the table.

Chef Tips

• •Use bomba or Calasparra if you can find it. Arroz redondo works well too. Arborio is the pinch-hitter, but it gives a creamier broth and turns clingy if you fuss with it.
• •Commercial squid-ink sachets are honest and useful, especially far from the coast. Four 4g sachets are enough for 320g rice; more ink makes the dish taste metallic, not more like the sea.
• •Chipirones should smell clean and marine, never sour. Frozen cleaned small squid is often better than tired fresh squid, and cuttlefish is a good coastal substitute if that is what your fishmonger has.
• •The stock matters more than the black color. A weak stock gives you black water with rice in it. Simmer fish bones, shrimp shells, or crab shells if you have them, and strain it well.
• •Caldoso does not wait politely. Serve it after the short rest, with extra hot stock ready. The rice keeps drinking on the way to the table.
• •For wine, pour a dry white from Valencia or Catalonia, Macabeo, Xarel-lo, or a clean cava. Fino also works if you like the sharper edge with the ink.

Advance Preparation

• •The fish stock can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen for 3 months. Bring it back to a simmer before adding the ink.
• •The chipirones can be cleaned in the morning, patted dry, and kept covered in the coldest part of the refrigerator.
• •The sofrito can be cooked 1 day ahead. Stop before adding the rice, cool it, and refrigerate it. Warm it in the pan before continuing.
• •Do not cook the rice ahead. Arroz caldoso is at its best the moment it has rested and is still loose.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 575g)