COLOMBIAN RICE WITH SHRIMPS

To calm Caribbean cravings, nothing better than rice with shrimp. This recipe is very typical of the Colombian coasts, where the ingredients can vary a little. I want to share with you the way I have adapted it. Remember that nothing is said in the kitchen, so try it, adjust it to your tastes and keep the formula that resonates with you the most.

You can also make rice with seafood with this same recipe.

Ingredients:

(5 servings)

• 800 grams of raw shrimp

• 2 cups of rice (I used parboiled rice)

• 1/2 white onion (big head)

• 1 large green onion (long)

• 1 red bell pepper

• 1/4 leek

• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 1/2 large carrot

• 1/2 cup of peas (optional)

• 5 tablespoons of natural tomato puree

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1/2 tsp turmeric

• 1/2 tsp achiote (optional)

• 2 tablespoons grated coconut (optional)

• zest of 1 lemon

• Juice of half a lemon

• Chopped cilantro to taste

Preparation:

As in the preparation of the seafood casserole, it is important that you make a "background" so that the rice has a good flavor. You can omit this step...but therein lies the secret to make it delicious. You can also use fish stock to cook the rice.

To make the base, peel the prawns and set the shells aside. In a saucepan, sauté half the amount of paprika, the onions and leek and a tablespoon of tomato puree in oil. Stir and then add the prawn shells. Add 4 cups of water, stir, and cook for about 10 minutes. If foam appears, remove it with a spoon. Strain everything through a sieve and set aside.

I like to cook the peas and carrots a little separately, so I put them in hot water for about 5 minutes. I bought the peas frozen so they don't need much cooking. Then I set them aside.

Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a hot pot, the achiote (if you have it) and the previously washed rice you are going to use and fry it a little. In this case I used parboiled rice. After doing this for about 3 minutes at a medium temperature, lower the heat and add 4 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt, the turmeric and let the rice cook.

When the rice is almost ready, add olive oil and the rest of the onions, paprika, leek, garlic and tomato puree to a separate frying pan. Over a medium heat, stir until everything is “poached”, i.e. the stew becomes a little shiny and the onions become transparent. Then add the prawns. Note that if they are already cooked, you only need to leave them for a very short time. In my case, they were raw and took about 7 minutes to cook. You can tell they are ready when they change color and shrink a little

The final step is to mix the rice, shrimp, peas and carrot. Stir and add the grated coconut, lemon zest and juice. The latter is optional but for me it's what gives it the explosion of flavor! Adjust the flavor with salt and pepper, add cilantro to taste and serve.

The best thing is that @weinme.de helped me find the ideal pairing for this delicious dish. I paired it with this Baron Knyphausen 1818 German Riesling, which comes with the March box selection; 3 wines, video tasting and illustrated notes that make it much easier to enjoy good wines. I am a wine lover but I know very little about them and that's why I loved this Colombian-German project!

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