Saturday, March 3, 2012

CATALAN BLACK RICE WITH GARLIC SAUCE

It's March! Seafood on Fridays. Which makes me remember my trip to Spain where I experience how they celebrate Holy Week.
This was taken in Seville, Spain, as the parade for Holy Week began.
Spain celebrates Holy Week, also known as Semana Santa more so than most European countries. There are street processions usually commencing at 3PM.  People carry statues of Saints on floats and platforms as shown above.
In processions, we observed marchers wearing attires that depict people from Nazareth, although it reminded us more of something else.
Because it's that time of the year again, I decided to make a seafood dinner I enjoyed while in Spain.  It's like a seafood paella with squid ink

INGREDIENTS:
2 lbs small squid cleaned
6 TB olive oil
1 onion, chopped
5 whole canned tomatoes, drained and cut into small pieces
2 peppers, red and green, chopped
400 grams (2-1/2 c arborio rice or any rice)
1 litter water or stock
1tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 TB of squid ink (available in packets or bottles from Italian or Spanish specialty stores) mixed with
50 ml Sherry
1/2 lb cooked prawns or shrimp and mussels

SAUCE:
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
100 ml oil

If squid is small, leave them whole.  Otherwise cut them up.

Heat the oil in a pot or a wok.  Saute the onions and peppers.  When onions turn translucent, add the squid a fry for around 3-5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes; then add the 100 ml water or stock and cook for 20 minutes more till liquid is reduced.

Add the rice the 3/4 litter of water, sherry-squid ink mixture, salt, and cayenne pepper.  Stir rice well and simmer stirring from time to time so the mixture does not stick in the pan.  Cook for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, combine the 3 cloves of garlic and 1/2 tsp salt in a mortar and pestle.  Crush the garlic well till blended pouring the olive oil slowly.


Garnish the squid-rice mixture with cooked shrimp and mussels.
Spoon some garlic sauce drizzled on top and serve the rest in a separate bowl.

We ate this with micro green salad.  made with pea shoots, micro arugula, micro red amaranth, micro scallion, and sliced radicchio. I used a pomegranate vinegar with olive oil seasoned with Fleur-de-sel and freshly ground black pepper.
When I was in Spain, we bought a traditional Easter bread.


Above, is the traditional Easter bread I bought which I brought back home.  It was delicious!
http://www.euroresidentes.com/Fiestas/semana_santa.htm

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