History
Arroz a banda is a rice dish of Alicante province: fishermen boiled cheap, bony rockfish (morralla) with ñora peppers for stock, cooked the rice in that stock separately, a banda, and ate the fish another day. Like other Alicante rices it starts from a salmorreta of ñora, garlic and tomato. On Benidorm's beaches it is a standing order: Ongi Etorri Manolo 1 on Poniente names it among its specialities, Ducado lists it beside its lobster rice, and El Barranco cooks it for two or more.
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Common allergens: Fish, Crustaceans, Egg (allioli)
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 400g bomba or round rice
- 1kg small rockfish for stock
- 4 dried ñora peppers, seeded and soaked
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 ripe tomato, grated
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- A pinch of saffron
- 200g cuttlefish, diced
- 8 prawns
- 100ml olive oil
- 1.5 litres water
- Salt
- Allioli, to serve
Method
- Fry the ñoras and garlic in the olive oil in a paella pan; pound them with the tomato to a salmorreta and set aside.
- Boil the rockfish with the water and a little salt for 30 minutes, then strain; keep 1.2 litres of stock hot.
- Brown the cuttlefish and prawns in the pan, then stir in the salmorreta and paprika for a few seconds.
- Add the rice, stir to coat, then pour in the hot stock and the saffron and season.
- Cook on high heat for 10 minutes and on medium for 8 more, without stirring, until the rice is dry.
- Rest for 5 minutes and serve with allioli on the side.
Tip from the editors. The rice is only as good as the stock: use whole small rockfish, not fillets, and skim it as it boils.
Where to eat arroz a banda
Arroz a banda in Benidorm
Ongi Etorri Manolo 1 ★ 4.2
Ongi Etorri Manolo 1 has fed Poniente beach in Benidorm since 1968, a family house cooking arroz a banda, paella, bay fish and Basque-style hake by the sea.
OrderArroz a banda for two, or the merluza a la vasca the house calls its signature.
TipThe kitchen runs straight through from noon, so a late lunch after the beach is easy; rice dishes are for a minimum of two.
Ducado ★ 4.1
Ducado has cooked traditional Mediterranean food in Benidorm since 1980: sea bream, sea bass and other fish, lobster rice, milk-fed lamb and Iberian ham.
OrderArroz con bogavante, or whichever whole fish is on the day's list.
TipRoast suckling pig is cooked to order, so call ahead; Monday is lunch only and the restaurant closes all day Tuesday.
El Barranco ★ 4.2
El Barranco is a seafront rice and fish house on Poniente beach in Benidorm, cooking arroz a banda, arroz del senyoret and rice with anchovies and spinach.
OrderArroz con boquerones y espinacas, Benidorm's own rice, for at least two.
TipRice dishes are made for at least two; a local quoted by Guía Repsol picks the salt-baked fish and the grilled baby squid.
Arroz a banda in Valencia
La Riua ★ 4.4
La Riua on Carrer del Mar in Valencia's old town has run a family-tavern rice kitchen since 1978, now in the third generation, with a dozen paellas.
OrderThe paella valenciana or the arroz a banda; the house Utiel-Requena tinto is honest.
TipClosed Sunday and Monday. The dining room fills with locals by 14:00; reserve ahead.
Casa Carmela ★ 4.6
Casa Carmela on the Malvarrosa beachfront in Valencia has cooked wood-fired paellas to order since 1922, with a 20-strong rice repertoire and a lunch-only.
OrderThe paella valenciana cooked over orange-wood embers, ordered when you book.
TipBook three weeks ahead for weekend lunch. Lunch only Tue to Sat 13:00-16:00; no dinner.
La Pepica ★ 4.3
La Pepica on Passeig de Neptu in Valencia's Malvarrosa beach has served paella since 1898; Hemingway, Queen Sofia and Orson Welles all ate the rice here.
OrderThe paella valenciana with rabbit, chicken and ferraura beans at lunch.
TipBook the beachfront terrace one week ahead. Closed Sunday evenings. Hemingway's signed photograph hangs in the inner dining room.
Rausell ★ 4.4
Rausell on Calle Angel Guimera is a 1948 family fish and rice kitchen in Extramurs working a daily chalkboard of lonja catch with pescaito frito and arroces.
OrderPescaito frito plate of the day plus a half-portion of arroz a banda.
Why locals go1948 family fish-and-rice kitchen in Extramurs with no tourist visibility, a daily chalkboard of lonja catch.
TipClosed Sunday. Reserve weekend lunch.
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