Rice with Lobster

History

This recipe for Arroz con Langosta ("rice with lobster") is recorded in La Mejor Cocinera, Recetas de Cocina, a Spanish home-cookery manual published in Madrid by the house of (Saturnino) Calleja. The book carries no named author. Saturnino Calleja Fernández (1855-1915) was the publisher and founder of the firm, not the author of the recipes, so the authorship is properly left anonymous. Library cataloguing places the edition around 1921, with some copies dated 1923; the exact imprint year is uncertain. As printed, the dish is a baked, molded rice rather than a paella. Lard is used to fry tomato, onion, and garlic; the rice is then added and turned in the fat, and the necessary water is poured in. Lobster that has already been cooked and prepared is added next. The rice is pressed into a lard-greased mold, covered with strips of canned pimiento ("pimientos de lata"), and baked in the oven; to serve, the mold is turned out onto a round platter and garnished. Beyond what the book itself records, the sources consulted do not document a specific origin, regional lineage, or social meaning for this particular recipe. No opened source establishes it as a dish of status, luxury, or wealth, and no such claim is made here.

Ingredients

• manteca (lard)
• tomato
• onion
• garlic
• rice
• water
• lobster
• canned pimiento strips

Instructions

1. Heat lard in a pan and fry the tomato, onion, and garlic until softened. Add the rice and stir for a few turns to coat it well. Pour in the necessary water and bring to a simmer. Once the rice begins to cook, add the lobster, which should already be cooked and prepared.
2. Grease a molded baking dish with lard and transfer the rice mixture into it. Cover the top with strips of canned pimiento. Place in the oven until set.
3. When ready to serve, turn the mold out onto a round platter and garnish as desired.