Arroz de Peixe (Portuguese Fish Rice with Hake and Clams)
- Prep
- 15 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Servings
- 5
- Calories
- 410 kcal
Arroz de peixe is one of the most comforting dishes in Portuguese cooking: soupy rice with hake and clams, cooked in a fragrant broth of tomato and pepper. It takes about 45 minutes, and the secret is using the broth the fish cooked in.
It’s made all over the country with whatever fish there is. Its origin is often placed around Aveiro, with its fishing tradition; in the Algarve, shellfish such as shrimp are often added. At popular festivals it’s cooked in big batches for sharing.
Recipe
Arroz de Peixe
Soupy fish rice with hake, clams and surimi in a tomato and pepper broth. Comfort food for anyone who loves fish and seafood.
Ingredients
Method
- 1Clean the fish and cook it in water seasoned with the seafood stock cube.
- 2Once cooked, remove the skin and bones and flake it. Strain the broth and keep it hot.
- 3Put a pot on the heat with the onion, garlic, bay leaf and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook until the onion is soft.
- 4Then add the pepper, tomato passata and clams. Cook a little more and add the rice. Mix well and add the hot broth (about 3 to 4 times the volume of the rice).
- 5When the rice is almost cooked, adjust the seasoning and add the fish and the surimi.
- 6Let it finish cooking and serve straight away, sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley.
Tips
Fry the rice briefly with the onion and garlic before the liquid goes in: it gains flavor.
For homemade fish stock, simmer the bones and head for 20 minutes with onion, carrot, parsley, bay, white wine and water, then strain. It makes all the difference.
The rice should be cooked but still a little al dente, with plenty of broth. Serve it straight away, because it keeps absorbing liquid. Cilantro is a common alternative to parsley.
