Arroz Meloso de Gambas

Ingredients

• STEP 1 - PEEL THE PRAWNS AND START THE STOCK
• Working over a bowl, twist off and reserve every prawn head; peel the bodies and
• STEP 2 - BUILD AND SIMMER THE STOCK
• Add the halved onion, carrot, smashed garlic, bay leaves, and parsley stems. Sau
• STEP 3 - BLOOM THE SAFFRON
• Toast the saffron threads in a dry small pan over low heat for ~30 seconds, just
• STEP 4 - BUILD THE SOFRITO
• In the wide pan, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium-low. Add the diced onion wit
• STEP 5 - COAT THE RICE
• Return the pan to medium heat. Add the bomba rice and stir for 1-2 minutes so ev
• STEP 6 - THE SPANISH POUR
• Add all of the hot stock at once, including the bloomed saffron. Distribute the
• STEP 7 - THE HARD SIMMER, THEN THE SOFT
• Bring the rice to a hard simmer over medium-high heat for 8 minutes uncovered -
• STEP 8 - ADD THE PRAWNS
• In the final 2-3 minutes of cooking, nestle the peeled prawn bodies into the sur
• STEP 9 - REST
• Off the heat, scatter the chopped parsley across the surface and cover the pan l
• STEP 10 - SERVE
• Bring the pan to the table. Spoon into shallow warm bowls, drizzle with a thread
• TROUBLESHOOTING
• Gluey, not glossy: you stirred, or used arborio. Don't stir after the stock goes
• Pan dry, rice crunchy: heat too high in stage two, or not enough stock. Splash i
• Soupy and pale, not creamy: sofrito under-cooked, rice not toasted. Let the dish
• Bitter undertone: burned paprika, or stock boiled hard. Always add pimentón off
• Rubbery prawns: added too early or pan too hot at the end. Add only in the final
• STORAGE & MAKE-AHEAD
• Prawn stock: make up to 2 days ahead, refrigerate; or freeze up to 2 months. Bri
• Sofrito: can be made up to 4 days ahead and refrigerated under a thin film of ol
• Finished arroz: best within minutes of cooking - the texture changes as the rice
• Leftovers: refrigerate up to 1 day; reheat gently in a covered pan with a splash
• VARIATIONS
• Arroz meloso de marisco: add 12 mussels and 8 clams in the final 4 minutes, cove
• Arroz meloso de calamar y gambas: add 200 g cleaned baby squid, sliced into ring
• Arroz meloso negro: stir 1 tbsp squid ink into the stock for the Catalan black-r
• Mountain version : replace prawn stock with chicken stock; add 200 g diced chori