Arroz del Cazador
Ingredients
Sofrito:
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups minced yellow onion
1 green bell pepper, seeded and minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon saffron threads
¼ cup hot water
1 teaspoon sweet paprika (preferably smoked)
1 cup crushed canned tomatoes
Meats:
2 to 3 pounds duck legs
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound chicken thighs
Kosher salt
1 cup fino or other dry sherry
Rice:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups short-grain rice (such as Bomba, Arborio, or Carnaroli)
Garnishes:
2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
3 roasted piquillo or other red peppers, seeded and coarsely chopped
Description
If you like paella, you will love this dish. It is a cousin of that famous Spanish rice dish, and what makes it so special is that it relies on whatever a hunter brings back that day: the meats in the rice change with every hunt. Obviously, duck (or goose) is vital to this recipe, but feel free to include any other meat you’d like. I’ve included chicken thighs here because they are easy to get, but rabbit would be my first choice with the duck.
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°F..
To make the sofrito, in a large sauté pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and garlic and cook gently, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Mix in the bay, cayenne, thyme, rosemary, and parsley, season with salt, and cook slowly (lower heat) for 30 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Do not let it burn. While the onion and pepper are cooking, in a small glass, crumble the saffron into the hot water, stir briefly, and let the saffron bloom. When the vegetables have cooked for the full 40 minutes, mix in the saffron, paprika, and tomatoes and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
While the sofrito is cooking, prepare the meats. If using domesticated duck legs, trim off any excess fat. In a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the duck legs, skin side down, and cook until they give up some of their fat. Add the chicken thighs, again skin side down. Brown the duck legs and chicken thighs well on both sides. Sprinkle salt over the meats as they cook.
When the meats are well browned, check to see how much fat is in the pan, and pour off all but about 3 tablespoons. Turn the duck legs and chicken thighs skin side up, add the sherry, and then add enough water to come up to the level of the skin. Do not submerge the meats. Bring to a simmer, cover, and put the pot in the oven. Braise for about 1 hour, until the meats are tender.
Remove the pot from the oven, fish out the meats, and put them on a baking sheet to cool. Turn the heat to high and boil down the braising liquid until it is reduced to about 4 cups. This should take about 8 to 10 minutes.
Pour in the sofrito, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and set aside. Strip all of the meat from the bones, discard the bones, and put the meat in a bowl. Save the skin as a cook’s treat—or toss it, if you must.
To cook the rice, put the oil in a large, wide sauté pan—if you have a cazuela (earthenware cooking pot) or paella pan, this would be the time to use it—and set it over medium heat. Add the rice and sauté for 2 minutes.
Add 4 cups of the sofrito mixture and the meats, bring to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Put the pot in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes, until the rice is tender.
To serve, you can either sprinkle the garlic, parsley, and red peppers over each person’s dish, which is traditional, or you can move everything to a large bowl and mix in the garlic, parsley, and red peppers. Pour a Spanish red, a Côtes du Rhône, a Chianti, or a California Pinot Noir at the table.