Arròs amb Gambes

Ask any Spainard and they’ll say Catalunya has the best seafood in the region. The crown jewel is the bright red gamba de Palamós (prawns from Palamós) that’s best enjoyed in the Arròs amb Gambes (rice with prawns) with a glass of white and a view of the

sofrito (paella base)

100ml olive oil

1kg banana shallots, diced

5 cloves of garlic, finely diced 500g red bell peppers, finely diced a dash of sea salt

250g tomato, ripe

1g saffron

» In a hot pot cook olive oil, banana shallots and garlic together for 15 minutes. » Add red bell peppers and season with salt. Cook for 15 more minutes.

» Cut tomatoes in half and grate it, then add the grated tomatoes to the mix and cook for 30 more minutes at a very slow heat.

» Add saffron to the mixture and let it rest at room temperature while preparing the stock.

caldo (prawn stock)

100ml olive oil

2kg carabineros 200g white onions, diced 100g carrots, diced

4 tbps tomato sauce

1 tbsp smoked sweet paprika 150ml white wine

3 litres fish stock 100g fennel, diced » In a pan sauté prawns for 2 minutes, then set aside and add onions.

» Cook it for 10 minutes then add carrots. » Cook for another 10 minutes then add tomato sauce and paprika.

» Cook it for 10 more minutes, at slow heat, before adding white wine.

» After a minute – when the alcohol has evaporated – add fish stock and fennel. » Remove prawns from the broth. Then separate the head, body and tail of each prawn. Add the heads to the broth, and save the tails and bodies for paella.

» Once broth is brought to a boil, keep the heat low and allow it to simmer for 45 minutes before setting aside for 15 minutes.

» Strain the broth (remember to squeeze out the juice from the prawn heads).

paella

2 litres caldo

400ml sofrito

100ml olive oil

800g cebolla rice (available from Secrets Fine Food) fine salt, to taste red prawns’ tails red prawns » Bring prawn stock to boil.

» In a paella pan, add paella base, olive oil and rice together and cook it at medium heat for 5 minutes.

» Once the grains are fried a little add prawn stock and salt. Stir until the grains are well mixed with the broth, and cook it at medium heat for 15 minutes. (Always check that the rice is simmering on the pan. Do not stir the rice during the cooking, just keep moving the pan.)

» 2 minutes before the rice is finished, add red prawn tails and prawns on it.

» After 15 minutes, remove the pan from the stove and cover it with aluminum foil – to absorb the remaining drops of stock. » After resting for 10 minutes, the paella is ready to be served.