Arròs fosc de l'Empordà

Arròs fosc de l’Empordà

The rice draws its name from the onion’s rich, near-black color, which stems from the onion’s lengthy sofregit.

The rice draws its name from the onion’s rich, near-black color, which stems from the onion’s lengthy sofregit. Though it’s easy to assume that this rice gets its darkness from squid ink, there’s another recipe for that. Although it was traditionally cooked in clay pots, today people use cast-iron pots or paella pans.

TRADITIONS

While those living in rural areas and on the outskirts of Barcelona customarily make rice on Sundays, Catalonia boasts a long and world-famous tradition of preparing and eating rice on Thursdays. While we don’t know exactly where or how this tradition came about, we do have a few theories. The most popular is that Thursday was the day housekeepers had their day off, so they’d leave the rice almost ready to go on Wednesday, so that the lady of the house would only have to toss in the stock the following morning. Since then, most restaurants serve rice on Thursdays.

LOCAL FESTIVITIES AROUND THE RICE

Festes de la Plantada I de la Sega
Two major festivities celebrate rice cultivation in Delta de l’Ebre. The Planting Festival is celebrated every June, and later, in September and October, the Harvest Festival is held. These festivities include popular song and dance, as well as recreations of the traditional rice- harvesting process, with performers donning apparel from the olden days. As in every other festivity across Catalonia, these two also include food tastings. In Delta de l’Ebre, rice is, of course, involved.

50 min

Ingredients

1 lb. bomba or perlat rice 53⁄4 cups fish stock
8 shrimp
1 small, ripe tomato, chopped or 1 Tbsp. of high- quality tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 sweet onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper
1 lb. calamari cut into rings or 1-inch pieces
16 mussels
8 to 10 littleneck clams
6 oz. spareribs cut into 1-inch pieces
4 mild pork sausages cut into 1-inch pieces
1 sprig of parsley
3⁄4 cup vi ranci (De Muller rancio seco) or white wine
Catalan Extra Virgin Olive Oil – EVOO
Kosher salt

For the PICADA

1 garlic clove, minced
1 sprig of parsley
1 cuttlefish liver (optional)
1 Tbsp. fish stock to dilute the seasoning

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1.
Heat the cast-iron pot or paella pan over high heat and drizzle in some olive oil. When hot, sauté the shrimp for 30 seconds on each side. Set aside.

Step 2.
Sauté the calamari for a few minutes and set aside.

Step 3.
Brown the spare ribs and sausage together, until golden on the outside, and set aside with their juices.

Step 4.
In the same pot, drizzle some olive oil and start up the sofregit: cook the onion on high for five minutes and then adjust heat to low. Cook until dark brown, making sure not to burn it. Stir constantly, until caramelized. If the onion starts to burn, add a few drops of water. This process requires time and patience: the sofregit often takes a full hour, but it’s the secret to this rice.

Step 5.
Add the chopped, green pepper and the garlic. Cook for three to four minutes and toss in the grated tomato. Let the sofregit cook on low heat until quite dark, with a confit-like texture. Stir from time to time. Toss the meat, calamari, and their juices back in—but not the shrimp, langoustines, or prawns.

Step 6.
Pour in a trickle of white wine and leave on low heat for five minutes.

Step 7.
For the picada, crush the garlic, parsley, and cuttlefish liver in the mortar. Dilute with a spoonful of fish broth. Set aside.

Step 8.
Pour in the rice and mix all the ingredients together for two minutes. Pour in the boiling stock.

Step 9.
Salt the stock to taste and cook for 16 minutes, on high for the first 8 minutes and on low for the remaining

Step 10.
Five minutes before it’s done, spoon in the picada. At this point, add the shrimp and prawns. Add the cleaned mussels and littleneck clams.

Step 11.
When the 16 minutes are up, turn off the heat and keep the lid on for 2 to 3 minutes.