Arroz de la Tumbada

Tip: This dish is excellent anytime and great to make with leftover rice. When making rice, I like to make a large batch and freeze what we don’t use after it has cooled off. I put it in an airtight freezer container, like a zip-top Hefty gallon freezer bag. Get the excess air out and flatten it so it takes up little space in the freezer. It is easy to take out the next time you want rice. Break apart enough for your needs and put the rest back in the freezer for next time.

Arroz Tumbada is a delicious mixture of your favorite fish and shellfish; use whatever you like.

Ingredients:

To serve four, about 3 cups of already cooked rice - brown or white

One tablespoon of olive, canola, or avocado oil

4 or 5 big Roma tomatoes - chopped to a size you prefer - I like them about an inch cubed

2 - 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes in juice with or without green chilis

1 of each: small red and sweet green peppers chopped into medium-sized chunks

One small yellow onion - chopped into whatever size you like

Either two small cloves of fresh garlic chopped into tiny bits or about a teaspoon of garlic powder - not garlic salt

Black pepper - about two teaspoons - I use coarse ground pepper - if you use fine - use less

Fresh or from the jar - 10 to 12 slices of jalapeños (2 small to medium-sized fresh) with some seeds removed. The amount of seed you keep depends on your tolerance for heat.

One sliced zucchini if you like -optional

Fresh or dried parsley, about three tablespoons

4 or 5 fresh limes

Your favorite whitefish - we use Mahi Mahi cut into inch-size cubes - about 2 to 3 cups

1 cup of Seafood Medley found in the seafood section of the grocery store

1 cup of calamari or squid rings

1 cup of shrimp with or without tails

1 cup of squid tenacles (optional)

One can of clams in their juice and washed fresh clams (if available) about 15 to 20 - and washed mussels if you like

Two jars of clam juice or 2 1/2 cups of fish stock

Two cups of water - maybe more, depending on how long you cook the sauce. I like to cook it for about 1 1/2 hours

Torn cilantro to taste

Steamed corn tortillas (optional)

In a 4 quart or bigger pot, pour a little oil and turn on high. Add garlic cloves or powder, onions, and green and red peppers. Cook on high until the onions are just about translucent, stirring for about 3 to 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and add everything except the fish, shrimp, lime, and tortillas!

Simmer for about an hour or longer, and about 15 minutes before you want to eat, add all the rest. Cut your limes in half, saving a couple for each person to add juice to their individual bowls. Squeeze all the juice out of the rest into the pot. If using clams in the shell, the shell should be open before you stop cooking. This takes just a few minutes. Once that is done, you can add the rice to the pot if you like or do like we do and add a small amount to the individual bowls, pour the sauce with fish over the top, and stir.

We like our Arroz Tumaba on the wetter side - like a stew with rice. Feel free to prepare your’s drier if you like. The Veracruz style blends all the ingredients except the rice before adding fish. We like our vegetable chunks, so I do not blend mine.

Serve with a green salad with lots of goodies - arugula, kale, collard greens, spinach, and so on. Don’t forget the other salad treats like: garbanzo beans, beets, celery, tomatoes, crumbled blue cheese, red onions, cucumbers, and whatever else you desire, along with your favorite salad dressing; you are set.

If using tortillas, steam them before serving and eat with the Arroz Tumbada like you would eat bread.

Be wary of seconds - a bowl of this may seem like it is not enough at first, and who could blame you for wanting more? Give yourself a few minutes before going back for seconds. Arroz Tumbada has so many ingredients that you don’t think about how filling it can be. It can creep up on you. We don’t want to see you dragged from the dinner table to the floor so you can stretch out. Not again.