Squid and carabineros prawns with bomba rice and alioli
An impressive Spanish dish to rustle up at your next dinner party. Use large raw prawns with the shell on if you can’t get hold of carabineros.
Ingredients
For the alioli
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 free-range egg yolks
- 1 lemon, juice only
- extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- flaky sea salt
For the stock
For the bomba rice
- extra virgin olive oil
- ½ fennel bulb, finely chopped
- ½ Spanish onion, finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 300g/10½oz bomba rice
- 100ml/3½fl oz anis liqueur
- 100ml/3½fl oz brandy
- 150ml/5fl oz dry white wine
- handful flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
For the squid and prawns
Method
To make the alioli, put the crushed garlic in a small bowl and mix with a pinch of flaky salt, until smooth. Add the egg yolks and lemon juice and whisk together to combine. Slowly drizzle in the oil, while whisking until you reach a loose mayonnaise texture.
To make the stock, heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and fry the prawn heads for 5 minutes. Pour over the stock and simmer for 10 minutes.
Transfer the stock to a blender and blend until smooth. Pass through a sieve into a bowl and set aside.
To make the bomba rice, heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan over a low-medium heat and fry the fennel, onions and garlic for 10–15 minutes, until just starting to colour. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes. Add the anis, brandy and white wine, then the stock and simmer for 20–25 minutes, until the rice is just tender. Cover and set aside.
To make the squid and prawns, head a griddle pan until hot and cook the squid bodies for 45 seconds on each side, until just cooked, then set aside. Repeat with the prawns and tentacles.
Stir a spoonful of the alioli and the parsley through the rice and spoon onto plates to serve. Arrange the prawns, squid and tentacles on top and eat straight away.