Creamy Rice with Langoustines —and beach days in Spain, two years later

Natacha Sanz Caballero Soups and Stews, Fish Alcocebre, arroces, arroces valencianos, arroz caldoso, comunidad valenciana, langostinos, main dish, seafood, shellfish, sopas, verano en España

I am missing fish, and I am missing shellfish. My brother-in-law Jaime makes the richest, most flavorful arroz con bogavante, soupy rice with lobster, and while I’m not able to replicate it here in Indiana, this creamy rice with langoustines is the best close second. So whenever I find whole shrimp at the store —that is, shrimp with the heads on, or even langoustines if I’m really lucky— I’ll make it.  

This is what happened recently —I found langoustines!—, and I couldn’t wait to share with you my recipe for creamy rice with langoustines, a dish that uses Bomba rice (the same one used in paella) and that tastes as coastal as possible in a non-coastal state.

I recently came back from Spain, the summer trip to my homeland, which did not happen last year. After a long month there (and by that I mean an almost 5 week stay, even if it felt way shorter than that), it’s always bittersweet to return home to Indiana. It takes about a couple of weeks for things to return to normal, almost by force, since the reality of family schedules and routines pushes nostalgia aside. 

But only somebody with a heart split between two countries (two continents!) understands the feeling of traveling back-and-forth from one place to the other, of always leaving part of yourself behind, of longing for where you’re not. The sights and flavors of my childhood stay back home; the friends, the close family members, the food, the culture, the vibrance of the streets, the sea, the mountains, and even the hot weather, is something that cannot be replicated. I can fill my mind and my day with the plans, activities and routines that are characteristic of my life in the United States, but I don’t fool myself: my heart will always be split.

Preparing the dishes of my homeland is not only the purpose of this blog, but also my way to stay connected, to keep my roots alive, even if I wish sometimes I were a bit more cold hearted about it. I think I’ve instilled in my children a love and embrace of the multiple cultures they’re made of, and spending their summers —or part of them now in the case of my grown-up sons— in Spain, is something they look forward to. I come from a close knit family, one that has kept growing, and the sense of belonging is in them, even when they are thousands of miles away.

You’ve seen in this blog that I make seafood stock out of the scraps of fish and shrimp. For this creamy rice with langoustines you will need a very rich, very flavorful stock, so I suggest you also use the heads of the shrimp or langoustines you will use in the dish. It will make for a powerful, flavorful stock that will enrich the dish tremendously. If you live in a coastal area with easy access to fresh shellfish you will have no problem finding it. If you live in the Midwest, or in the mountains, it will be harder to find, but not impossible. You may even be able to order it from your supermarket fishmonger. This dish will make up for any minor trouble you encounter finding one of its main ingredients. 

Another point of advice with this dish is it’s better enjoyed right after making it. This is true for most creamy or soupy rices; try not to have leftovers, because the rice will absorb too much of the stock and, over time, it will loose its creaminess and will become an almost dry rice dish. Still good, but not the creamy rice we are seeking.

Accompanying this recipe are some snapshots of our first few days in Spain, reunited with family, taking in the sights, the scents and the flavors, living the slow, active life.

And retaking it where we left it two years ago.

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CREAMYY RICE WITH LANGOUSTINES

Arroz caldoso con langostinos

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Spanish

Author: Natacha Sanz Caballero, Mama Ía blog

Equipment

• Food mill
• Immersion blender

Ingredients

• 8 langoustines
• 1 leek (dark green leaves)
• 1 cup Bomba rice (medium grain Spanish rice for paella)
• 4 sprigs parsley
• 1 green or red pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 lb Roma tomatoes
• 1 tsp pimentón de la Vera
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp sea salt approx.
• 5 Tbs olive oil
• 1 pinch saffron

Instructions

• Remove the heads of the langoustines and peel them.
• Cut the langoustines in thirds and reserve in the fridge (we will use them later for the rice). We will use the heads and shells for the stock.

Make the langoustine stock or fumet:

• In a stockpot, add 1 Tbs olive oil and sauté the langoustines shells and heads (I like to lightly season them with a pinch of sea salt first).
• Add the sliced leek and 1 tomato (previously cut into smaller pieces), 1 clove of garlic and 2 sprigs of parsley. 
• Add 6 cups of water and 2 tsp salt and bring to a boil. 
• Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking for another 20-30 minutes. If a foam forms on the surface, remove it with a shallow spoon (they are impurities and need to be removed).

While the fumet is cooking, prepare the sofrito:

• Dice the pepper and the onion into small pieces. Peel the tomatoes (you can do this by submerging them into boiling water for a few seconds, this helps them release the peels more easily). Purée the tomatoes in a food processor or chop them finely (see note 1).
• In a stockpot, an earthenware casserole or a cast iron casserole, add 3 Tbs olive oil. Sauté the onion until translucent. Add the pepper and the garlic cloves and sauté until soft. Add the tomato puré and cook at medium heat until the liquid has almost evaporated, 15 to 18 minutes. Add the pimentón.
• Pass the stock through a food mill or a colander and discard the solids (see note 2).
• Add 4 cups of fumet to the sofrito. Add the saffron. Cook for a few minutes and adjust for salt.
• Using an immersion blender, liquify the soup until thin. At this point, add the rice. From this point on, you will need to watch closely and stir once in a while for the next 12 minutes. After this time, add the langoustine pieces and stir. Cook for an extra 3 or 4 minutes until the rice reaches the right point of doneness, tender but not too soft.
• Add the remaining minced parsley. The rice should be soupy —add a few more spoonfuls of stock if necessary.
• Serve immediately in shallow bowls.

Notes

Note 1: I used tomatoes I preserved from last summer’s harvest, which were already peeled

Note 2: if using a colander, press the solids in the stockpot with a potato masher, to extract all the flavor