Arroz de Marisco

Stock and rice

• 400 g prawns, peeled; shells and heads kept for stock
• 1.3 L water, for the stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 300 g rice (Carolino or Arborio), unrinsed — the surface starch bodies the broth

Refogado and shellfish

• 1 onion, diced
• 3 garlic, chopped
• 80 ml olive oil
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 400 g tomato, chopped
• 100 ml white wine
• 400 g clams, purged
• 200 g mussels, purged
• 200 g crab meat, optional(optional)
• 0 a generous handful coriander, chopped
• 0 to taste salt and piri-piri

Stock and refogado

1. 1

   Peel 400 g prawns and simmer the shells and heads in 1.3 litres water with 1 bay leaf for 20 min, then strain to ~1.2 litres of stock — this is where the depth comes from, far more than any cube.

   20m

   Tip: Always make the stock from the actual prawn shells.

2. 2

   In a wide pot, build a proper refogado: soften 1 diced onion and 3 chopped garlic cloves in 80 ml olive oil, add 1 diced red pepper and 400 g chopped tomato, and cook a full 10 min until it darkens and the oil splits back out. Add 100 ml white wine, reduce 2 min, then pour in the 1.2 litres hot stock and bring to a vigorous simmer. Season with salt and a little piri-piri.

   14m

   A rushed, raw base gives a thin, sour rice — cook the refogado until the oil breaks.

   Refogado — the Portuguese Aromatic Base

Rice and shellfish

1. 3

   Stir the 300 g unrinsed rice into the simmering stock and cook ~12 min. Then add the 400 g clams and 200 g mussels and cook 3 min just until they open, and finally the peeled prawns (and 200 g crab meat if using) for 2–3 min more, only to warm through.

   17m

   Cook the shellfish separately and fold it back at the end — cooking it the whole time gives rubbery prawns and hollow shells.

   Purging & Steaming Bivalves (Clams, Cockles)
2. 4

   Keep it loose — roughly 2.5–3 parts liquid to 1 part rice; it should look slightly too soupy in the pot, because malandro rice keeps drinking the broth. Off the heat, stir through a generous handful of chopped coriander, rest 2 min, and serve immediately in a wide pot at the centre of the table.

   2m

   Arroz Malandro — Soupy Portuguese Rice

   Tip: This dish waits for no one — it tightens fast on the way to the table.