Rice with anchovies and spinach

4 servings

Ingredients

For the fish stock

2 red tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1 ñora pepper
16 saffron threads
500 g of small fish (morralla)
1.5 liters of mineral water
150 g of olive oil
150 g of seawater

For the salmorreta:

2 cloves of garlic
2 tomatoes
4 ñora peppers
100 g of olive oil

Remaining ingredients:

320 g of senia rice variety D.O Valencia
16 large anchovies
100 g of spinach

Preparation

Preparation of the fish stock: In a pot, heat the olive oil and add the chopped garlic, ñora peppers, and quartered tomatoes. Sauté for 15 minutes. Afterward, add the small fish, saffron, mineral water, and seawater. Let it simmer on very low heat for 45 minutes. Once done, cover the broth and let it rest for 1 hour before straining.

Preparation of the salmorreta: Roast the tomatoes in the oven. Fry the garlic and ñora peppers, then add the roasted tomatoes and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Blend the mixture until smooth and strain through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

Preparation of the rice: Add the salmorreta and rice to a pan, sauté briefly, and pour in the hot fish broth. Cook on high heat. Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring lightly, before adding the spinach. Arrange the cleaned anchovies (gutted, deboned, and head removed) on top of the rice in a circular pattern. Cook for 2 more minutes, and it’s ready to serve.

Alicante City of Rice

“Alicante, Ciudad de Arroz” is a project designed to highlight the city’s exceptional culinary tradition, with rice as its star ingredient.

Rice is undeniably the main attraction of Alicante’s gastronomy. In fact, you could enjoy a different rice dish every day of the year. From dry and soupy rice dishes to creamy (meloso) rice, paired with seafood, vegetables, meat, or fish. Alicante’s finest products from the sea and mountains blend harmoniously with this essential ingredient to bring you the best of the flavorful and healthy Mediterranean diet. These rice dishes, all prepared with Mediterranean passion, can be perfectly paired with the renowned Alicante DOP wines.