Arroz de tamboril: monkfish rice

Ingredients

• For the shellfish stock
• 1 Monkfish head and carcass, ask fishmonger to include
• 150 g Prawn shells, reserved from prawns below
• 150 ml White wine
• 700 g Monkfish (tamboril), tail fillet, cut into large pieces
• 300 g Clams, purged in cold salted water
• 300 g Prawns, shell-on, shells reserved for stock
• 300 g Short-grain rice
• 4 tbsp Olive oil, plus extra to finish
• For the sofrito
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 3 Garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 Ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
• 50 ml Brandy
• 10 g Fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped, to finish
• Fine sea salt

Method

1. 1
   Combine the monkfish head and carcass with the reserved prawn shells and white wine in a large saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 25–30 minutes, skimming regularly. Pass through a fine sieve and keep hot. The stock must be rich, concentrated, and noticeably gelatinous; if it tastes thin, reduce it further before proceeding.
2. 2
   Heat the olive oil in a wide, heavy-based pan over high heat. Season the monkfish pieces and sear briefly — 1–2 minutes per side — until golden on the surface but not cooked through. Remove and set aside. The flesh should colour at the edges while remaining raw at the centre.
3. 3
   Reduce the heat to medium. In the same pan, soften the onion in the residual oil until translucent, then add the garlic and cook for a further minute. Add the tomato and cook until collapsed and jammy. Pour in the brandy and allow it to reduce completely. The sofrito is ready when the fat begins to separate at the edges and the mixture smells sweet and deeply savoury.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies: add the rice to the sofrito and stir to coat every grain, then ladle in the hot stock — roughly three parts stock to one part rice — and maintain a steady, active simmer throughout cooking. The stock must go in hot and must never stop moving; a sluggish simmer or cold stock will yield a starchy, uneven result. Cook for 12–14 minutes, adding further hot stock as needed to keep the consistency loose and pourable.
5. 5
   With 5–7 minutes of cooking time remaining, return the seared monkfish pieces to the pan, pressing them gently into the rice. After a further 2–3 minutes, add the clams and prawns. The clams are done the moment their shells open fully; discard any that remain closed. The monkfish is ready when it yields to gentle pressure but still holds its shape — it must not be allowed to flake apart.
6. 6
   Remove from the heat. The finished rice should be wet enough to pour slowly when the pan is tilted — not dry, not soupy. Finish with a generous drizzle of good olive oil and scatter over the chopped coriander. Taste and correct for salt. Serve immediately in deep bowls.