Chef Isabel
Arròs al Forn de Vigilia
Arròs al forn de vigilia is Valencia's meatless baked rice for Cuaresma: chickpeas, potato, tomato, and a whole garlic head set in a clay cazuela and baked dry, with no stirring.
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Arroz Negro Valenciano
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Arroz negro is Valencian coastal rice: short grains stained black with sepia ink, cooked dry in a wide pan, and finished with allioli, never peas.
Main Dishes
Spanish
Dinner Party
Special Occasion
Date Night
25 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 10 min total
Yield4 servings
Arroz negro is Valencian coastal arroz, a dry rice stained black with sepia or squid ink and cooked in a wide pan until the grains sit separate and glossy. This is not a paella painted black, and not every arroz is a paella. The ink, the cuttlefish, the fumet, and the sofrito, the slow onion and tomato base, are what make it this dish and not its neighbour's.
The method that decides it is the same one that decides most good dry rice from the coast: build the flavour before the broth goes in. Cook the sofrito low until the tomato is dark, thick, and almost sweet. Add the rice and move it through the oil until the grains look glassy. Then add hot fumet all at once and leave it alone. Stir after that and you work loose the starch, and the dry finish you wanted turns heavy.
If you are far from Valencia, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use short Spanish rice if you can, bomba, senia, bahía, or Calasparra. If not, use a good short-grain rice and know it will take a little less broth. Frozen cleaned squid is fine, and frozen ink packets are often better than ink you can't get fresh. What you cannot skip is a real fish stock; water gives you black rice with no sea behind it.
Serve it from the pan with allioli at the table. A small spoonful against the black rice is enough. My Margin beside this one says only: don't fuss with it once the broth is in. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Arroz negro belongs to the rice coast of Valencia and Alicante, where fishermen's kitchens made use of cuttlefish, squid, and their ink in the same wide pans used for other dry arroces. In Valencian it is arròs negre, and close versions run north along the Catalan coast, but the Valencian table keeps it tied to short local rice, seafood fumet, and allioli. The black colour is not decoration; ink was part of the animal and part of the larder, giving the rice its briny depth and its name.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
short Spanish rice, preferably bomba, senia, bahía, or Calasparra
Quantity
360g
cleaned cuttlefish or squid
Quantity
500g
bodies sliced, tentacles cut small
good fish stock or seafood fumet
Quantity
1.2L
squid or cuttlefish ink
Quantity
16g
from sachets or fresh sacs
onion
Quantity
1 large
finely chopped
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
2, about 250g pulp
grated, skins discarded
green pepper
Quantity
1 small
finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
2 minced, 2 reserved for allioli
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
90ml
divided
sweet pimentón de la Vera
Quantity
1 teaspoon
dry white wine
Quantity
120ml
bay leaf
Quantity
1
saffron threads (optional)
Quantity
1 pinch
egg yolk
Quantity
1 large
for allioli
lemon juice
Quantity
1 teaspoon, plus wedges to serve
mild olive oil or sunflower oil
Quantity
180ml
for allioli
salt
Quantity
to taste
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| short Spanish rice, preferably bomba, senia, bahía, or Calasparra | 360g |
| cleaned cuttlefish or squidbodies sliced, tentacles cut small | 500g |
| good fish stock or seafood fumet | 1.2L |
| squid or cuttlefish inkfrom sachets or fresh sacs | 16g |
| onionfinely chopped | 1 large |
| ripe tomatoesgrated, skins discarded | 2, about 250g pulp |
| green pepperfinely chopped | 1 small |
| garlic2 minced, 2 reserved for allioli | 4 cloves |
| extra virgin olive oildivided | 90ml |
| sweet pimentón de la Vera | 1 teaspoon |
| dry white wine | 120ml |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| saffron threads (optional) | 1 pinch |
| egg yolkfor allioli | 1 large |
| lemon juice | 1 teaspoon, plus wedges to serve |
| mild olive oil or sunflower oilfor allioli | 180ml |
| salt | to taste |
Equipment Needed
- •38 to 42cm paellera or wide heavy shallow pan
- •Small saucepan for hot fumet
- •Box grater for tomatoes
- •Mortar and pestle or bowl and whisk for allioli
Instructions
- 1
Warm the fumet
Put the fish stock in a saucepan with the bay leaf and keep it hot at the side of the stove. Stir the ink into a ladleful of the hot stock until smooth and black, then return it to the pan. Taste carefully for salt; many ink packets are already salted, so season with a light hand now and adjust later.
A proper fumet matters here. Use stock made from fish bones, shrimp shells, or a good shop-bought seafood stock. Plain water gives the rice colour, not depth. - 2
Brown the sepia
Set a 38 to 42cm paellera or wide heavy pan over medium-high heat and add 45ml of the olive oil. Pat the cuttlefish or squid dry, salt it lightly, and fry it in the pan until it tightens, gives off its liquid, and begins to catch in golden spots, 6 to 8 minutes. Lift it to a plate and leave the oil and browned bits in the pan.
- 3
Cook the sofrito
Lower the heat to medium-low. Add the onion, green pepper, and a pinch of salt to the pan and cook slowly for 12 to 15 minutes, scraping the bottom, until the onion is soft and dark gold. Add the 2 minced garlic cloves and cook 1 minute. Stir in the grated tomato and cook until the water is gone and the sofrito looks thick, dark, and jammy, 10 to 12 minutes more. That slow cook is where the sweetness comes from; rush it and the whole arroz tastes thinner.
- 4
Add pimentón
Stir in the pimentón off the strongest heat for a few seconds, just until it smells warm, then pour in the white wine. Let it bubble down until the pan is almost dry again. Return the cuttlefish or squid to the pan and coat it well in the sofrito.
- 5
Toast the rice
Sprinkle in the rice and stir it through the sofrito for 1 to 2 minutes, until every grain is blackened with the ink-dark base and looks a little glassy at the edges. Pésalo, no lo adivines: 360g rice to about 1.1 to 1.2L hot fumet is the balance for a dry rice in a wide pan, with bomba taking the upper amount.
- 6
Add broth once
Pour in 1.1L of the hot inked fumet all at once, reserving the last 100ml only in case the pan runs dry too soon. Add the saffron if using. Shake the pan gently to level the rice, bring it to a lively boil, and cook 8 minutes. From this point, do not stir. Stirring works the starch loose and turns a dry arroz into something else.
- 7
Finish dry
Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook 8 to 10 minutes more, until the rice is just tender and the surface looks glossy rather than wet. If the rice is still chalky and the pan is dry, spoon in a little of the reserved hot fumet around the edge, not over the top. For a little socarrat, raise the heat for the last 60 to 90 seconds and listen for a fine crackle, not a burn.
- 8
Make the allioli
While the rice cooks, crush the 2 reserved garlic cloves with a pinch of salt to a paste. Whisk in the egg yolk and lemon juice, then add the mild oil drop by drop at first, then in a thin stream, until thick and glossy. Taste for salt. If it splits, start a new yolk in a clean bowl and whisk the broken sauce into it slowly. Nadie nace sabiendo.
- 9
Rest and serve
Take the pan off the heat, cover loosely with a clean cloth, and rest 5 minutes. The grains finish settling and the bottom crust releases more cleanly. Serve straight from the pan with lemon wedges and allioli on the side, so each person can take a little with the black rice.
Chef Tips
- •Use cuttlefish, sepia, if you can find it; it has more body than squid and holds up well in the pan. Frozen cleaned squid is an honest substitute, but cook it just until it tightens before the sofrito or it turns tough.
- •Buy ink in sachets from a Spanish, Portuguese, or good fish market freezer. Fresh ink is lovely when you have the whole animal, but sachets are reliable, already strained, and usually salted, so taste before adding more salt.
- •Short Spanish rice is the point. Bomba is forgiving and drinks more broth; senia or bahía give a softer, more traditional coastal texture but need a steadier hand. Arborio at a pinch will feed you, but it releases more starch, so use a little less broth and stir only before the stock goes in.
- •Allioli is served beside the rice, not stirred through the pan. A small spoonful cuts the briny ink and gives the dish its sharp garlic edge. Peas, roasted peppers, and chorizo do not belong here.
- •Let the pan be wide enough. If the rice sits too deep, it stews instead of cooking dry. For 4 servings, a 38 to 42cm paellera gives the grains room to cook in a shallow layer.
Advance Preparation
- •The fumet can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator, or frozen for up to 3 months. Bring it to a full simmer before it touches the rice.
- •The cuttlefish or squid can be cleaned and sliced several hours ahead, then kept covered and cold. Pat it dry before it goes into the pan so it browns instead of boiling.
- •The allioli can be made 4 hours ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Take it out 15 minutes before serving so it loosens slightly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 560g)
Calories
1060 calories
Total Fat
66 g
Saturated Fat
9 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
53 g
Cholesterol
340 mg
Sodium
1300 mg
Total Carbohydrates
85 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
4 g
Protein
31 g
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