Seafood Rice With Spinach Cream

The seafood rice with spinach cream is a very simple dish to prepare and that, in addition, can be enjoyed as lunch or dinner.

In general, it is a dish with a somewhat more embellished appearance than other preparations that make up our weekly menu. This is why  it tends to be served more frequently on special occasions than on a daily basis.

The following recipe for seafood rice with spinach cream combines the good taste of sea fruits with that of certain vegetables, such as spinach and onion (or, if we prefer, shallots). And for this, it will not be necessary to resort to the typical sautéed spinach with garlic.

Seafood rice with spinach cream

The seafood indicated in this recipe can be substituted for others, according to our preferences. It is not necessary to proceed to the letter in this regard.

However, if we introduce some variants, or we want to add more seafood, we must always take into account the cooking time of each of them. Nor can we ignore the way to season them to get a good meal.

Ingredients

• 1 green chilli
• Virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots
• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger (5 g)
• ¼ glass of white wine (50 ml)
• 2 ½ cups of fresh spinach (100 g)
• ¼ glass of milk (50 ml)
• 3 tablespoons of crème fraîche or fresh cream (45 ml)
• 2 cups white round grain rice (300 g)
• Seafood: 8 prawns, 1 squid, 1 monkfish tail …
• Seasonings: hot pepper, salt, black pepper
• Water (required amount)

Preparation

1. First, we wash and clean the seafood. It should be noted that the squid must be chopped into small pieces while the monkfish tail can be cut into medium-sized pieces.
2. Once we have peeled the prawns, we place the heads and shells to boil in a pot with water and salt. We let them cook for 25 or 30 minutes and then we proceed to strain the resulting broth. We booked.
3. Separately, peel and chop the shallots into slices less than 2 centimeters thick (approximately).
4. We put a paella or a casserole on the fire, with a little olive oil and, once it is very hot, we proceed to poach the shallots.
5. Once the shallots have been poached, add the chilli, the pieces of squid and the white wine. When the wine is about to dry completely, we add the rice and toast it a little before adding the prawn broth.
6. We let the paella reach its boiling point and then we lower the heat a little and let everything cook for 10 or 12 minutes. Then, we sprinkle the ginger on top and stir to integrate it with the rest of the ingredients.
7. We wash the spinach, cut them in half and cook them in a pot with just the right amount of water to cover them (no more, because we would get a too watery broth).
8. Once the spinach is ready, we blend them with the mixer in their own broth along with the milk and fresh cream. We beat until it sets and becomes a light cream. We add a little of salt.
9. Pour the spinach cream into the paella along with the monkfish pieces. Mix well with the help of a wooden spoon and let it cook a little more (without allowing the grain to pass).
10. In addition, in a pan greased with just a little olive oil, we cook the prawns on the grill.
11. We serve the rice and add the prawns on top and, if we wish, a pinch of hot pepper.

Variants and recommendations

As we may have noticed, the seafood rice with spinach cream comes to take some inspiration from both the traditional Spanish paella and the Venezuelan seafood rice.

In its more gourmet versions, it is usually prepared with Japanese condiments and sauces, with which, the dish is left with a much more exotic seasoning (and also more salty).

To shorten the time of preparing the dish, many people choose to prepare their seafood rice with green rice instead of preparing the rice on the one hand and the spinach cream on the other.

And the truth is that in this way you also get a very tasty meal, but it will also become a drier dish. Thus, if we opt for this alternative, it is convenient to add certain juicy ingredients, such as some cherry tomatoes or a sauce for fish (according to our preference).