Rice with artichokes and anchovies recipe

Rice with artichokes and anchovies has a colour that sets it apart: it should come out green, the colour of the artichoke. The recipe is the one from the Convega recipe book, from the Consortium for the Economic Development of the Vega Baja. We have found no other open source that gives this dish with quantities, so we follow it as it is, with its proportions. The only thing we take from another recipe, Martí Domínguez’s paella d’hivern, is the trick to keep the artichoke from darkening.

A seasonal rice

The artichoke rules. Convega places its season roughly between November and April, and says the Vega Baja is the main artichoke-exporting area in Spain. The region sells its artichoke under a brand, Alcachofa Vega Baja, which the consortium itself describes as a mark of quality: it is neither a Protected Designation of Origin nor a Protected Geographical Indication, and we don’t present it as such.

The other ingredient that gives the dish its name is the fresh anchovy (boquerón), easy to find at fish markets and fishmongers. And the rest depends on the month: more broad beans in some weeks, more potatoes in others, as the winter vegetables arrive.

The vegetables, in order of hardness

Each vegetable needs its own time, so they go in in order: the new potato, in wedges, first; then the artichoke; at the end the broad beans and the green garlic. After that comes the peeled tomato, fried with them. The recipe asks for a homemade vegetable stock, also made with seasonal vegetables, which is left to boil for ten minutes before adding the saffron and the rice.

The anchovy: salt, searing and on top

This is the part that most sets the recipe apart. Convega asks for 100 g of anchovy per person; as the recipe is for four, that is 400 g in total, and that is how it appears in the list. The anchovy is boned and filleted; before using it, it rests for half an hour in salt, which firms it up and stops it breaking. Then it is seared for just a moment in the same pan, next to the vegetables, and taken out. When the rice is already in the pan, the fillets are laid on top, without mixing them in, and cook there for ten minutes over a high heat.

Stock, ratio and texture

Convega uses a litre and a half of stock for 320 g of rice, a little over four and a half times its weight (1:4.7). It is much more than usual: other artichoke rice recipes use quite a lot less. We have kept the Convega one without mixing it with others. Note that this stock boils for ten minutes in the pan before the rice goes in, and part of it is lost in that boil. Convega doesn’t say how the grain should end up; if you have stock left over, adjust next time, knowing that you are already departing from the recipe. To understand the difference between dry, creamy and soupy, there is the entry creamy, soupy and dry rice.

After ten minutes over a high heat, the heat goes down to the minimum for seven minutes more and it rests for five before serving. Convega doesn’t say which variety of rice it uses; if in doubt, in the glossary you can read what bomba rice is, one of the usual ones for paella.

Equipment and serving

Convega asks for an iron paella pan, a knife and a wooden paddle. Nothing else. It is served on a plate, with the anchovies on top of the rice. And if you want to follow the old custom that Convega describes, dress the rice with the first green oranges, as you would with lemon.

Typical mistakes

• Vegetables in no order. If everything goes in at once, the potato stays hard and the artichoke overcooks. Respect the order of hardness.
• Anchovy without salt. It falls apart when you sear it; the half hour in salt is what keeps it whole.
• Dark artichoke. It darkens on contact with the iron of the pan. Sprinkle it with lime or lemon as you peel it, as Martí Domínguez does.

Allergens

Anchovy is fish, one of the 14 allergens that must be declared. Tell anyone who will be eating it.

For a group

With so many vegetables to peel, it pays to have the mise en place done beforehand. If you are cooking for a crowd, see the guide to how much rice per person. And if there are 40 or more of you, we cook rice for groups live: see paella and show cooking. Other fish rice dishes, in case you are looking for alternatives, are the arroz a banda, the black rice (arroz negro) and, for Lent, the salt cod and cauliflower rice.