Valencian Cuisine - Main Dishes

Main Dishes

• Paella. The most famous Valencian dish is one of the most recent. Although many towns claim to be the birthplace of paella, it is usually considered native to county Ribera, just south of Valencia. It can be found in two main varieties, with chicken and rabbit or with seafood. Nowadays paella can be found around the world and especially throughout Spain and Latin America. As a curiosity it is also a typical dish in Nice, France.
• Arròs negre. Rice with squid and squid ink.
• Arròs al forn. A rice dish baked in the oven and usually containing sausages and potato amongst other ingredients.
• Fideuà. A dish based on noodles and seafood, typical of the Valencian coast and originally from Gandia.
• Arròs amb costra A kind of arròs al forn but covered with an egg which provides the "crust" in the name. It is typical of most of the south of Valencia and especially of Elche.
• Gaspacho. A famous Spanish dish typical throughout south and central Spain. In the Valencia region it is typical of the southern and inland areas and is the quintessentially winter dish.
• Arròs a banda. A humble preparation typical of the Valencian coast with rice, fish, and sweet potato.
• Embotits. Cured sausages.
• Sobrassada a typically Majorcan meat-product which is produced in the Marina.
• Bollit. Vegetable stew.
• Suquet de peix. An eel, potato, garlic and fish stew, similar to Bouillabaisse.
• All i pebre. a signature dish for the area around Valencia city and immediately to the south, containing peppers, garlic and potatoes with eels.
• Esgarrat or Pericana in the mountains of Alcoi. It is a mixture of roasted peppers and strips of salted cod. The pericana also adds garlic.
• Espencat. Roasted vegetables, typically peppers and aubergine but other vegetables can be added.