Arroz Negro Recipe

Arroz negro, or black rice, is a rich squid and rice dish made a generous amount of with squid ink and cuttlefish. This version from Nieves Barragan is topped with homemade aioli and monkfish fritters.

Ingredients

• 3.5 fl oz of olive oil
• 2.25 lb of prawns
• 14.125 oz of tomato purée
• 0.5 pint of sherry, ideally La Gitana Manzanilla sherry
• 6.75 fl oz of brandy
• 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 large leek, roughly chopped
• 1 celery stick, roughly chopped
• 1 bulb of fennel, roughly chopped
• 8.5 pints of water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 head of garlic, plus 1/3 garlic clove
• 0.3333333333333333 large egg
• 0.6666666666666666 egg yolk
• 5.5 fl oz of olive pomace oil
• 5.5 fl oz of arbequina olive oil
• 0.3333333333333333 lemon, juiced
• olive oil, for cooking
• salt and pepper
• 3.5 oz of shallots, finely chopped
• 1.125 lb of Calasparra paella rice
• 5.0625 fl oz of white wine
• olive oil, for cooking
• 1.125 lb of cuttlefish, cut into small pieces
• 2 bunches of spring onions, washed and julienned
• 2 bay leaves
• 0.5 pint of white wine
• 0.3333333333333333 oz of fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp of squid ink
• arbequina olive oil, to finish
• 1.0625 oz of fresh parsley
• dried chilli, finely sliced
• salt and pepper

Steps

1. First prepare the bisque. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Caramelise the prawns for a few minutes, then add the tomato purée | Ingredients: 3 1/2 fl oz of olive oil , 2 1/4 lb of prawns , 14 1/8 oz of tomato purée
2. Cook for a few minutes, then add the alcohol and cook until it evaporates | Ingredients: 1/2 pint of sherry, ideally La Gitana Manzanilla sherry , 6 3/4 fl oz of brandy
3. Add the vegetables and cook them for 10 minutes, or until very soft, over a low heat | Ingredients: 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped , 3 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped , 1 large leek, roughly chopped , 1 celery stick, roughly chopped , 1 bulb of fennel, roughly chopped
4. Add the 4 litres of water and the bay leaf, then simmer for 20 minutes | Ingredients: 8 1/2 pints of water , 2 bay leaves
5. Remove from the heat and set aside to infuse for 30 minutes, then pass the bisque through a sieve
6. While the bisque infuses, make the alioli. Preheat the oven to 180°C
7. Slice across the head of garlic just a little from the top to expose the inside of the garlic cloves | Ingredients: 1 head of garlic, plus 1/3 garlic clove
8. Drizzle the head of garlic with olive oil and season it with salt and pepper | Ingredients: olive oil, for cooking , salt and pepper
9. Cook the garlic for 20–25 minutes until the cloves are nice and soft. Set aside to cool
10. Squeeze the cooled roasted garlic cloves out of their skins
11. Blend the roasted garlic to a paste with the raw garlic. Add the egg and yolks and blend again to combine | Ingredients: 1/3 large egg , 2/3 egg yolk
12. Whisk together the Arbequina and pomace olive oils together | Ingredients: 5 1/2 fl oz of arbequina olive oil , 5 1/2 fl oz of olive pomace oil
13. Very slowly drizzle the oils into the blender whilst it’s running, to emulsify them into mayonnaise
14. Season the alioli with the lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste | Ingredients: 1/3 lemon, juiced
15. Heat a pan over a medium heat and add a dash of olive oil. Cook the shallot for 5 minutes, making sure it doesn’t take on any colour | Ingredients: 3 1/2 oz of shallots, finely chopped , olive oil, for cooking
16. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until it changes from opaque white to more translucent and then back to white again | Ingredients: 1 1/8 lb of Calasparra paella rice
17. Add the white wine and reduce until the alcohol has cooked off | Ingredients: 5 1/16 fl oz of white wine
18. Add a bit of bisque and stir, then keep stirring and adding bisque until the rice starts to soften. You should need about 2 litres of bisque. Remove from the heat while the rice is still slightly undercooked
19. For the fondo, heat up a pan over a high heat, then add a dash of olive oil
20. Add the cuttlefish and cook until it loses all of its water, stirring if necessary | Ingredients: 1 1/8 lb of cuttlefish, cut into small pieces
21. Add the spring onion and cook for 5 minutes with the cuttlefish. Season with salt and pepper then finish with some parsley | Ingredients: 2 bunches of spring onions, washed and julienned , salt and pepper , 1/3 oz of fresh parsley
22. To finish, heat up a tablespoon of oil in the pan, then add the rice and cook until it's warmed through
23. Add all the fondo to the rice, along with the squid ink and a few ladles of bisque | Ingredients: 1 tbsp of squid ink
24. Cook the rice, stirring regularly, until it is tender and cooked through, adding more bisque as necessary
25. Drizzle in some arbequina olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper | Ingredients: arbequina olive oil, to finish
26. Serve garnished with the alioli, parsley and a sliver of dried chilli | Ingredients: 1 1/16 oz of fresh parsley , salt and pepper