Black rice with cuttlefish and clams

How to make black rice with cuttlefish and clams.

Don’t think twice, I offer you a perfect rice to succeed on a special occasion, even at Christmas , a black rice with cuttlefish and clams.

All the flavor of the sea inside a plate, with a good fish sauce , good raw materials and the squid ink that reinforces the flavors of the sea, you will get a luxury dish that will leave your guests with a smile on their lips.

The rice recipes that stand out in the blog are those that we prepare with shellfish or seafood. The cockles , the clams , mussels or lobster are always a great accompaniment.

.instagram-follow img{width:100%;height:auto;} @media screen and (min-width: 1000px) {.instagram-follow {display:block;clear:both;float:right;width:50%;margin-left:1em;}}

A very simple rice where it is essential to have quality raw materials, as it largely guarantees the success of a recipe.

For this reason, if we can get some good clams and a level cuttlefish … things improve. In addition, preparing this luxury rice with round SOS rice will be much more than simple.

Do you dare to prepare this black rice at home?

Before starting to cook. Cuttlefish

1. If your fishmonger is trustworthy, he will surely leave you the perfect cuttlefish for this rice. If you buy them whole and without cleaning, the first thing is to go through water when you get home.
2. We will remove any possible remains of dirt that are in it in this first wash.
3. We remove the cuttlefish or feather. We also remove the cuttlefish skin hard, We just need the cuttlefish body for this recipe.
4. We make an incision along the side edge of the cuttlefish and we put the thumb in to open it.
5. We do it carefully to remove the ink bag that it usually brings (it is not always the case, but you must remove it if it brings it, being careful not to break it).
6. We remove the eye of the cuttlefish or stinger, cut and we are left with only the legs.
7. We wash everything well and cut into squares more or less equal to half a centimeter (the legs too). We reserve.

Before cooking the rice. Clams

1. It is essential to remove the sand that clams usually bring so that it is not bothersome and does not spoil the recipe.
2. It is convenient to have them about three hours before cooking them in a saucepan or large plastic container.
3. We must add water, a good handful of coarse salt (50/60 grams per liter of water) and change the water three or four times.
4. Clams drink and often drop a lot of sand. Do not panic because it is a sign that the clam is of good quality, directly brought from the sand of the Ría de Pontevedra.
5. So that they come out of yummy I advise you to open them in a little liquid to avoid major ills. Some of them do not usually open and we will have to throw them away, also those that are broken.
6. To make them in the saucepan we wash the clams very well in cold water and remove all the impurities. We reserve.

Preparation of the rice base

1. We wash the peppers well, remove the stem and seeds. We cut into strips and then into small squares.
2. Peel the garlic cloves, split in half and remove the center, so that the food does not repeat later. Crush in a mortar or garlic crusher, to make it very finite, almost porridge. We don’t want them to show up in the rice later.
3. Crush the tomatoes or grate them. We reserve.
4. We prepare the fish and seafood fumet (if you make it homemade, the rice earns points), if you do not have time, you can buy one that is of quality.
5. We prepare the measures that we are going to use of liquid, in this case 2.5 per measure of rice. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a paella pan over medium-low heat. We salt the bottom to avoid burning.
6. Add the cuttlefish that we have reserved and sauté for a few minutes. We remove and reserve in a bowl for the end of the rice.
7. Fry the peppers in the same oil, if it does not remain, add a little more. We remove so that they do not burn, as soon as we see that it is tender we add the garlic, we combine well and we fry one more minute.
8. Incorporate the crushed tomato and stir to mix with the rest of the ingredients, 2 minutes or so.
9. Pour in the fish stock and the ink envelopes, the parsley and the bay leaf. We tried the point of salt, and if necessary we added a little more, this to the taste of each house.

Preparation of black rice with cuttlefish and clams

1. We introduce the rice and we combine everything gently so that it is well impregnated with the stew and absorbs the flavor, stirring until the rice is pearly.
2. Leave for 5 more minutes over medium-high heat and when it begins to boil add the cuttlefish. For the round rice issue the exact measurements are 2 and a half parts of water for every 1 rice. In this case there are 600 g of rice with which we will have to add 1 liter and a half of water.
3. Once the rice has been spread over the paella, it should be removed as little as possible. Otherwise it will release its starch and in the end the grain will not be loose.
4. We add the saffron (previously toasted) and the sweet paprika from La Vera, frying gently, avoiding burning, otherwise it may become bitter.
5. We lower the temperature in half and let it be done little by little, this process lasts between 18-20 minutes. It all depends on the fire, they are usually 18 for a dry rice.
6. Halfway through cooking we taste the broth and rectify the salt if necessary, although from experience, with the reduction of liquid, the flavor is concentrated and the point of salt is perfect.
7. When there are 5 minutes to finish the rice, add the clams until they open, about 2-3 more minutes. We must bear in mind that the clams are going to release a little more water, so that the rice will be done in about 19-21 minutes, 2 more minutes than I am used to.
8. Remove from the heat and let stand 5 minutes covered with clean cloths. And that’s it! We serve right away. Bon Appetite!

This black rice with cuttlefish and clams is very tasty, simple to prepare and one of the ones that I like the most. I advise you to serve with a little bit of a good all i oli or aioli (ajoaceite) .

You can see all the photos of the step by step recipe of black rice with cuttlefish and clams in this album.

Tips for a yummy black rice

• You can buy ink bags of cuttlefish and squid at the fish market, you can even find them in the frozen section, in the seafood section. I usually buy several and I have them in the freezer, I take them out as I need, they are very useful and are usually used for other recipes, for example to make fresh black pasta in nero di sepia, even bread.
• You can optimize times with some tips, you can use canned tomato, frozen cuttlefish or a quality fish broth purchased. You will save time and money, but clams and rice that are of quality so that the recipe is good.
• Adapt the recipe to your guests, in this case it is for 6 people, we have used a paella pan of 50 cm in diameter. I leave the measures for you to calculate which paella to use. Of course, adding a little more liquid you can also do it in a casserole.
• 2-3 people- Paella of 30 cm.
• 4-5 people- Paella 40 cm.
• 6-8 people- Paella of 50 cm.
• For 10 people- 55 cm paella.
• For 12 people- 60 cm Paella.
• On the blog you will find other recipes with rice, from baked rice , my favorite recipe for arroz a banda , a healthy vegetable rice in paella , seafood fideuá , rice with chicken and rabbit  to a broth rice .