Arroz caldosa is a soupy rice. The liquid is added all at once and the rice and other ingredients are poached in it.
This recipe is unusual in that you make the stock using a full-bodied red wine. A red from somewhere hot, in the old-fashioned style, not too much fruit, no stainless-steel tanks, rather concrete tanks and a chunky grape like bobal, garnatxa or monastrell. Any decent robust red
To make the stock chop a little onion, carrot, leek, celery and whatever else you have to hand, plenty of herbs, a bay leaf, some garlic. Put in a bottle of red (this will make enough for four portioins) and cover the vegetables with water or some chicken stock if you can. Bring to a simmer and simmer for until reduced by a third. When you taste it it should have a strong rich flavour.
Prepare your vegetables. If using broad beans, peel and lightly blanch, refresh in cold water. Artichokes must be prepared, that is trimmed back to the heart, cut into sixths or eights depending on size and kept in water with a little lemon to stop them oxidizing. Asparagus cut on the angle maybe in half inch lengths. Runner beans cut on the angle similarly. In Spain a fresh bean like a borlotti would be used, but dried ones could be used, once soaked and cooked.
Now make a base of sliced onions, red and green peppers and finally some tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped if good ripe ones available or else canned ones if not. The onions and peppers in this instance should be cooked on a fierce heat with olive oil and given a little colour. Add the tomatoes and reduce to a jam. In a fresh pan heat some oil and when hot throw in the artichokes and any other vegetable that you feel could benefit from a little caramelisation. Then add the rest of the vegetables, the base and then stir in the rice, followed by the stock. You only need 50 – 60 grams of rice per person for this dish and four times as much stock. Cook until rice is ready, stirring only to make sure it does not catch at the bottom. Season.
Garnish with some chopped parsley and a lemon wedge.
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