Name: Arroz Caldoso
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 400 g raw prawns, heads and shells on; 1 ⅝ litres water; 4 tbsp olive oil; 1 onion, chopped; 1 green pepper, diced; 3 garlic cloves; 200 g squid, in rings; 2 tomatoes, 250 g, grated; 1 tsp smoked paprika; 0.3 g saffron threads; 200 g bomba or paella rice; 400 g mussels, cleaned; 1 tsp salt; 3 tbsp chopped parsley

Arroz Caldoso

A soupy Spanish rice with prawns, squid and mussels in a saffron fish broth, ready in 1 hour 5 minutes.

1 hr 5 min total Serves 4 servings Medium

Why Arroz Caldoso Works

The first thing you notice is the colour, a deep golden orange, and the second is the spoon: arroz caldoso is eaten with one, because it is a rice dish in a broth. It is looser than a paella and richer than a soup, and it is the dish Spanish fishermen make on the boat from what is left in the net.

Start with a fish stock, made from prawn shells and heads simmered with onion and tomato. Strain it. Soften onion, garlic and pepper in olive oil, then add the squid and cook for 5 minutes until it turns opaque. Add tomato and paprika, stir in the rice for a minute and add the hot stock. Use 4 parts of stock to 1 part of rice for this soupy texture, where a paella has only 2 or 3.

Simmer for 15 minutes, add the mussels and prawns, and cook for 5 minutes more, until the rice is tender and the shells have opened. Throw away any that stay shut. The rice goes on absorbing broth as it stands, so serve it at once. A spoonful of allioli stirred in at the table is traditional.

What to Put on the Table With Arroz Caldoso

Allioli
Lemon wedges
Dry white wine

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Espinacas a la Catalana, Judias Verdes con Jamon.

Making Arroz Caldoso, Step by Step

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Peel the prawns, keeping the shells and heads. Simmer the shells and heads in the water with the saffron for 15 minutes. Strain and keep hot.
Soften the onion, pepper and garlic in the oil for 8 minutes. Add the squid and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and paprika and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in the rice for 1 minute.
Pour in the hot stock, add the salt and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add the mussels and prawns and cook for 5 minutes until the shells open. Discard any shut ones and scatter with the parsley.

Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Use about four parts stock to one of rice.

Keep the stock hot when it goes in.

Serve at once, as the rice keeps absorbing broth.

Changing the Recipe

An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Keeping What's Left

Best fresh.

Arroz Caldoso Nutrition

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

558Calories

45gProtein

54gCarbs

18gFat

3gFibre

5gSugar

1020mgSodium

Dairy-Free High-Protein No Added Sugar

Arroz Caldoso

What to Put on the Table With Arroz Caldoso

Making Arroz Caldoso, Step by Step

Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Changing the Recipe

Keeping What's Left

Arroz Caldoso Nutrition

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

What to Put on the Table With Arroz Caldoso

Making Arroz Caldoso, Step by Step

Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Changing the Recipe

Keeping What's Left

Arroz Caldoso Nutrition

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

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