⚠️ Source-confidence note: recorded in a Valencian home-recipe collection hosted by the Universitat de València (uv.es/baldovi), which gives no town attribution. The town variations are not documented.
01Geographic & Texture Profile
- Primary Geographic Zone: Province of València (home cooking; Lent and fast days).
- Liquid & Texture Profile: Seco (dry).
- Traditional Cooking Vessel & Fuel: A paella over wood or gas. The cassola variant is cooked in an earthenware casserole.
02Historical & Cultural Context
A pared-down fast-day paella: a lot of thinly sliced onion, unpeeled dried garlic, and soaked, flaked salt cod. Onion is normally excluded from Valencian seco rices, but here it is the dish, slow-fried until translucent and sweet. The same collection records two siblings. Paella d'espinacs i alls tendres swaps the onion for spinach and young garlic. Arròs de bacallà en cassola is a creamier casserole with peas and potato.
Culinary science: onion sugars caramelise slowly in plenty of oil, giving sweetness and body without any meat. Short-soaked cod (3–4 h) stays slightly salty, so it seasons the rice. The water goes in hot, so the grain starts cooking immediately.
03Local Town-by-Town Variations
- Paella amb ceba i alls secs: Onion + dried garlic + cod (as below).
- Paella d'espinacs i alls tendres: 500 g spinach + 5–6 young garlic replacing the onion, fried garlic → spinach → cod → rice. See also arroz de boquerones y espinacas.
- Arròs de bacallà en cassola: Potato and peas boiled in the cassola. Garlic, onion, cod and rice fried separately and added. Finishes "dry, creamy and whole".
- ⚠️ Town variants are not documented.
04The Master Recipe (4-Person Batch Blueprint)
Variant represented: paella amb ceba i alls secs (published quantities).
The Flavor Base (El Fondo)
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Salt cod, soaked 3–4 h, flaked | 125 g |
| Onion, finely sliced | 200 g |
| Garlic, unpeeled | 3–4 cloves |
| Olive oil | 200 ml |
| Pimentón, saffron, pinch of black pepper, salt | to taste |
Assembly Ratios
| Element | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Rice | 400 g |
| Hot water | ≈ 0.8 L |
Step-by-Step Cooking Blueprint
- Garlic and onion: Fry the garlic, then the onion with salt, until translucent.
- Cod and rice: Add the cod, then the rice, and fry together.
- Liquid: Pimentón (seconds), then the hot water, saffron and pepper.
- Fire: Adjust the heat until the grain is dry.
- Rest: Briefly.
