Rice with rabbit and mushrooms

I explained a bit about Spanish dishes based on rice on the occasion of the recipe for Rice with octopus, broad beans and artichokes, today I invite you to try another rice dish. This time with very healthy and often underrated rabbit meat and mushrooms. The recipe comes from one of the television programs hosted by Spanish chef José Andrés (I'm sure lots of you know who I'm talking about), who has been leaving for more than 20 years in the USA and who contributed largely to disseminate Spanish cuisine among Americans. At this link you can see José Andrés in action, and below you will find my description of this delicious and warming one-pot dish.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 rabbit (weight approx. 1kg) - cut into small serving pieces

rabbit liver and kidneys (optional)

400 g wild edible mushrooms

1 onion

1 green bell pepper

1 garlic clove

1 bay leaf

2 ripe tomatoes

pinch of saffron threads

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 cup bomba rice

4 cups water

salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil 

chopped parsley or thyme

Method:

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Add the rabbit pieces sprinkled with pepper and fry until golden brown on each side. Remove to a plate. Add finely chopped onion, bell pepper,  unpeeled and lightly crushed with knife garlic and the bay leaf. Fry on low heat for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, grate the tomatoes. 

Add saffron threads (lightly crushed with your fingers) and smoked paprika. Stir and fry for maximum 1 minute (both saffron and smoked paprika should not be fried for too long, since burned give the dish a bitter taste; so almost immediately after stirring them, add the tomatoes). Add the grated tomatoes. Simmer for a few minutes (until the water from tomatoes evaporates), add cleaned and sliced (if necessary) mushrooms and fry for a few minutes. 

Then add the fried pieces of rabbit and after 1-2 minutes, pour the water (the rice-to-water ratio for this dish is 1:4, so if you are going to use 1 cup of rice, pour 4 cups of water). Season with salt and cook for about 10 minutes. Add the rice, and after 5 minutes, when the rice begins to swell, cover with a lid (this way, the rice will not absorb all the water and as a result you will get the rice called arroz caldoso, with a little bit of yummy broth) and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with chopped parsley or thyme.

Enjoy !!!