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Recipe · 3 min read

Arroz con Habas Peladas

Thick rice with dried peeled broad beans

Arròs amb Fava Pelà (Fava Pelada)

Meloso · creamy Cooked in Stew pot Alicante

⚠️ Source-confidence note: the dish is well attested in the Marina Alta (Benitatxell's fava festival, Jesús Pobre's rice meeting, Pedreguer, Xàbia). However, I found no published quantified recipe. The blueprint is reconstructed from the documented features: dried peeled broad beans, thick and creamy texture, long cooking.

01Geographic & Texture Profile

  • Primary Geographic Zone: La Marina Alta: El Poble Nou de Benitatxell (signature dish), Xàbia, Jesús Pobre, Pedreguer.
  • Liquid & Texture Profile: Meloso (creamy). It is described as thick and creamy, with body from the bean starch.
  • Traditional Cooking Vessel & Fuel: An olla or caldero over wood, historically left on the fire for half a day.

02Historical & Cultural Context

Fava pelà is the dried broad bean with its skin removed. Once peeled it collapses into a purée-like body when cooked. In the dry-farmed Marina Alta it was a winter staple. Benitatxell sources say it was traditionally cooked for half a day, and a portion was kept for the farm workers' evening meal. Today El Poble Nou de Benitatxell holds annual Jornades Gastronòmiques de la Fava around arròs amb fava. Jesús Pobre's rice meeting dedicated an edition to it, and Moraira's Mañet restaurant served it in its traditional-food days. A Valencia Plaza column lists arròs amb fava pelada as Pedreguer's local rice.

Culinary science: without its skin, the bean's cotyledons break down and release amylose and protein into the broth. This creates a velvety, almost gravy-like body, so no stirring technique is needed. Any meat or pork added (common in winter versions) is optional.

03Local Town-by-Town Variations

  • Benitatxell: The festival's signature dish. Thick and creamy. ⚠️ Specific additions are not documented.
  • Pedreguer: Named as the town's own rice. ⚠️ Details not documented.
  • Xàbia / Jesús Pobre: Featured at the Jesús Pobre rice meeting. ⚠️ Details not documented.

04The Master Recipe (4-Person Batch Blueprint)

Variant represented: reconstructed Marina Alta base.

The Flavor Base (El Fondo)

Ingredient Quantity
Dried peeled broad beans (fava pelada), soaked 12 h 300 g
Pork ribs or belly (optional, winter) 300 g
Olive oil 60 ml
Garlic 3 cloves
Ripe tomato, grated 100 g
Pimentón dulce 4 g
Saffron 0.2 g
Water 2.5 L

Assembly Ratios

Element Quantity
Rice 300 g
Bean broth at rice-in ≈ 1.3–1.5 L (meloso)

Step-by-Step Cooking Blueprint

  1. Beans: Simmer the soaked beans (with the pork, if using) in 2.5 L of water for 1.5–2 h, until they collapse.
  2. Sofrito: Fry the garlic, then off the heat the pimentón, then the tomato. Add this to the pot.
  3. Rice: Add the rice and saffron and simmer 17 min, stirring now and then. The beans will thicken it.
  4. Finish: Rest 2 min and serve thick.

Winter pot & matanza rices: Olla-style pots of legumes, pork and offal with the rice cooked in.