Spanish · Valencia · main

Arròs a Banda

Arròs a Banda reads citrus 5.8, sourness 5.2 and richness 5.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Spanish · Valencia main, about 1 hr 23 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 5.2 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 5.1 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 7.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 3.1 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 5.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.3 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Citrus 5.8 · Sourness 5.2 · Richness 5.1 · Fruity 4.6 · Umami 4.4 · Allium 4.0 · Salinity 3.9 · Marine & Briny 3.8 · Smoke 2.7 · Sweetness 1.5 · Floral 1.5 · Earthy 1.5 · Warm Spice 1.5 · Bitterness 1.4 · Herbaceous 1.0 · Nutty 0.7

What's in it (13)

• rockfish — 1200 g
• short-grain rice — 400 g
• rockfish stock — 1600 g
• cuttlefish — 300 g
• nyora peppers — 20 g
• garlic — 25 g
• tomatoes — 300 g
• extra virgin olive oil — 110 g
• saffron — 0 g
• spanish smoked paprika — 3 g
• salt — 12 g
• aioli — 200 g
• lemon — 100 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 23 min (1 hr 12 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 54.5 kcal, 1.9 g protein, 1.3 g fat, 8.7 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

1. A banda means on the side, and that is the whole idea: the fishermen of Alicante boiled the day's unsellable rockfish, then cooked rice in that broth and ate the fish afterwards as a second course. The rice has no fish in it at all. It is a much better dish than it sounds, because everything is in the broth.
2. Simmer the rockfish in 2 litres of water for 30 minutes with a little salt, then strain it through a fine sieve, pressing hard. You want 1.6 litres of strong, cloudy stock. Keep the fish warm for the second course, served with allioli.
3. Tear the nyoras and soak them in hot water for 5 minutes, then scrape the pulp from the skins.
4. Heat the oil in a paella pan or wide shallow pan and fry the cuttlefish over medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until it stops giving out water and starts to catch. Add the garlic and the nyora pulp and cook 2 minutes.
5. Add the grated tomato and cook it down for 15 minutes at a steady simmer, until it darkens and the oil comes back out at the edges — this sofrit is the flavour base and rushing it is the single most common mistake. Off the heat, stir in the pimentón.
6. Add the rice and toast it in the sofrit for 2 minutes, stirring, until every grain is coated and slightly translucent at the edges.
7. Pour in the hot stock and the saffron, spread the rice level and do not stir again from this point — stirring makes it creamy and this rice is meant to be dry and separate. Boil hard for 8 minutes, then lower to a steady simmer for 10 minutes more. In the last 2 minutes listen for a faint crackle, which is the socarrat forming on the base.
8. Season with the remaining salt, take the pan off the heat, cover with a cloth and rest 5 minutes. Serve with the allioli and lemon on the side, then bring the fish out after.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Fideuà de Gandia — Spanish · Valencia
• Shrimp and Grits with Andouille Sausage — Southern
• Kedgeree (Smoked Fish and Rice, the Colonial Descendant of Khichuri) — Indian · Anglo-Indian
• Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon — American
• Chicken Shawarma Pita Wraps — Middle Eastern

Keep reading: what citrus, sourness, richness mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.