Arroz con Carabineros: Luxurious Valencian Seafood Rice 2026

Arroz con carabineros is one of those dishes that turns a simple weeknight dinner into a celebration. Large scarlet carabineros prawns give this Valencian rice its unmistakable color and deep, sweet shellfish flavor, all built on a homemade fish and seafood fumet that you enrich with the toasted heads and shells.

The sofrito keeps things honest: small cubes of sepia stewed with garlic and dry white wine, then grated pear tomato, ñora pulp, smoky pimentón de la Vera and saffron threads. Nothing complicated, but every layer earns its place in the pan.

You will see versions that tint the broth with red food coloring, but here the carabineros do that work naturally. Since these prawns are pricey even frozen, treat them right with the best short-grain rice and the best ingredients you can find.

Serve it straight from the paella with wooden spoons, or plate it up individually, and let the saffron-scented rice and glossy prawns speak for themselves.

Ingredients for Arroz con Carabineros

Serves 2 as a main course.

• 10 medium carabineros prawns
• 70 ml olive oil
• 700 ml fish and seafood fumet
• 150 g sepia (cuttlefish)
• 15 g garlic cloves
• 60 ml white wine
• 1 grated pear tomato
• 1 tablespoon ñora pepper pulp
• ½ teaspoon pimentón de la Vera
• Saffron threads, to taste
• 200 g short-grain rice
• Salt, to taste

How to Make Arroz con Carabineros Step by Step

1. Build the prawn fumet

Remove the head and shell from 6 of the medium carabineros. Set aside those bodies along with the 4 remaining whole prawns. Sauté the reserved heads and shells in 10 ml of olive oil, then add 700 ml of fish and seafood fumet and let it simmer for 15 to 30 minutes over medium heat.

2. Strain and measure the broth

Strain the carabineros fumet through a fine sieve and measure out 600 ml in a measuring cup. Set it aside until the rice is ready for it.

3. Sear the whole prawns

Pour 60 ml of olive oil into the paella and brown the 4 whole carabineros, turning them once, for no more than half a minute per side. Lift them out of the pan and reserve.

4. Start the sofrito with sepia and garlic

In the same paella, stew 150 g of sepia cut into small dice with 15 g of finely chopped garlic, then pour in 60 ml of white wine. Let the wine cook off completely before moving on.

5. Add tomato, ñora, pimentón and saffron

Add 1 grated pear tomato, 1 tablespoon of ñora pepper pulp, ½ teaspoon of pimentón de la Vera and saffron threads to taste. Stew the mixture until all the liquid from the tomato and ñora pulp has evaporated.

6. Nacarar the rice

Add 200 g of short-grain rice and mix it very well with the sofrito, sautéing for a few seconds. This step, known as nacarar, coats each grain in the sofrito so it cooks evenly.

7. Pour in the broth and season

Pour in the 600 ml of reserved fish and seafood fumet and season with salt to taste. Spread the rice evenly across the pan and bring it to a simmer.

8. Add the peeled prawn bodies

After 10 minutes of cooking, scatter the reserved bodies of the 6 carabineros over the surface of the rice so they gently poach in the broth.

9. Finish with the whole prawns

Arrange the 4 whole seared carabineros in the center of the paella, lower the heat to minimum and cook for 10 more minutes, or until the rice is dry and the liquid has been absorbed.

10. Rest, then serve

Take the paella off the heat, cover it with a cotton cloth and let it rest for a few minutes before serving. After the rest, serve immediately with wooden spoons, either straight from the paella or on individual plates.

Tips for the Best Arroz con Carabineros

Enrich a good fumet

A good fish and seafood fumet is the backbone of this rice, and homemade is best. Even a store-bought one improves dramatically once you simmer it with the sautéed carabineros heads and shells.

Keep the sofrito simple but complete

Small dice of sepia stewed with chopped garlic and dry white wine form the base, so don't skip the grated pear tomato, ñora pulp or saffron threads. They are simple ingredients that carry a lot of flavor.

Skip the coloring, protect the prawns

Many versions add red food coloring to the fumet, but the carabineros give a natural color on their own. Since they are expensive even frozen, pair them with the best short-grain rice and ingredients you can afford.

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