Spain·Valencian Community
Arroz negro
Black rice with cuttlefish ink
A seafood rice from the Valencian coast, coloured with cuttlefish ink, with a sofrito, shellfish and plenty of alioli.
- Preparation
- 20 min
- Cooking
- 40 min
- Total time
- 1 h 5 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Servings
- 4
Resting: 5 min
Ingredients
Tap an ingredient to tick it off.
Preparation
Tips
- Use a wide paella pan so the rice forms a thin layer and stays loose and perfectly cooked.
- Do not stir the rice once the stock is in: doing so releases starch and makes it creamy instead of loose.
- Natural ink gives more flavour and a better colour than industrial preparations; dissolve it well in the stock before adding it.
- The alioli is not decoration: the dish needs that touch of garlic and oil to balance the taste of the sea.
Variations
- The ingredients change with the day's catch: cuttlefish, squid, baby squid, prawns or rockfish.
- Some versions use a sofrito with more tomato and a few shellfish (clams, mussels) that open on top of the rice.
Story of the recipe
Arroz negro: where it comes from.
Arroz negro is a seafaring creation with centuries of history on the coasts of Castellón, Valencia and Alicante, according to the official tourism portal of the Comunitat Valenciana. The recipe accepts varied ingredients depending on what reaches the fish markets each day, but the one essential element is cuttlefish or squid ink.
It is cooked in a paella pan, whose wide surface allows a thin layer of rice with a loose texture, and it is usually served with alioli. The same pan is used for other rice dishes and for fideuà.
Sources
By RecetarioMundo.