Arroz del senyoret

Arroz del senyoret (in Valencian, arròs del senyoret or arròs de senyoret) is a seafood rice where the shellfish comes peeled and the fish boned, so you can eat it without getting your hands messy. The Diccionari normatiu valencià defines it as a dish of rice, fish, king prawns or prawns and mussels “que se servix amb tot el marisc pelat” (served with all the shellfish peeled). It’s one of the classics of Alicante cooking and a close cousin of arroz a banda.

How it got its name

Senyoret is Valencian for señorito, the young master of the house. Alicante’s tourist board food guide explains that the dish got its name because it was cooked for well-to-do families, where “the young master” wanted to enjoy a seafood rice without getting his hands dirty. The name is a little tongue-in-cheek, and these days nobody orders it to put on airs, but because it’s easy: everything on the plate can be eaten with a spoon or fork, with nothing to peel.

What goes into it

The same guide sums up the golden rule: there are plenty of variations, but in all of them “everything in it must be ready to eat”. The usual line-up:

• Short-grain rice, such as bomba.
• Rockfish stock, or a fumet made with morralla (small rockfish).
• A sofrito of tomato, garlic and ñora (dried sweet pepper): Alicante’s salmorreta.
• Peeled prawns or king prawns, squid or cuttlefish in pieces and a boneless fish such as monkfish.
• Mussels out of their shells, which the dictionary includes in its definition.
• Saffron and olive oil.

Directo al Paladar notes that most versions “just have prawns, squid and a fish such as monkfish”. What goes in changes with the season and with whatever came in at the fish market.

Dry, nearly always

Senyoret is usually a dry rice, cooked in a paella pan like arroz a banda. You can also make it creamy or soupy by adding more stock; here are the differences between the three styles. The Alicante rice recipe published by the city’s tourist board, with peeled prawns, squid and salmorreta, uses twice as much stock as rice and adds the seafood when the rice is almost done, so it doesn’t overcook.

Arroz a banda and senyoret

	Arroz a banda	Arroz del senyoret
Stock	Rockfish	Rockfish
Texture	Dry	Dry, nearly always
Fish and seafood	The stock fish is served separately; very little in the rice	In the rice, peeled and boned
How it’s served	Rice on one side; fish with potato and alioli on the other	All together, ready to eat

If you’re eating with people from the Murcia region, watch the names: they swap them round there, as we explain in the arroz a banda entry.

A rice dish with deep roots in the terreta

Rice on this coast goes back a long way, as our history of rice in Spain tells. The decree that made paella valenciana a Bien de Interés Cultural recalls that large-scale rice growing arrived with the Arabs, and that in the late 19th century paella moved from farm cottages to beachside eateries, including the Albufereta in Alicante. Today Alicante’s tourist board lists senyoret among the rice dishes cooked the traditional way in most of the city’s restaurants, alongside arroz a banda, caldero and black rice (arroz negro).

Arroz del senyoret at an event

It’s a very practical rice for events with lots of people standing, with children, or with guests who’d rather not battle with shells: every spoonful is ready to go. If you’d like it on your menu, get in touch via paella catering and show cooking or go straight to get a quote.