Rice, with all due respect to the prawn, has always been a trusted accomplice in Quique Dacosta’s cuisine. A versatile ingredient capable of adapting to countless techniques, and delivers just as many wonderful results.
At Llisa Negra, Wednesdays are not just midweek, they are Socarrat Day, our weekly tribute to rice in its boldest, most flavourful form.
What exactly is socarrat?
According to the dictionary, socarrat means:
- n. Culinary: The bottom layer of rice from a paella or cooking pot, slightly burnt, but delicious and edible.
- adj. Slightly burnt on the surface.
- n. Traditional Valencian ceramic tile, historically used to decorate the space between ceiling beams, now appreciated as an ornamental element.
- n./adj. [colloq.] A term for locals from towns like Xàtiva, Cocentaina, Vila-real, or Culla.
But to us, socarrat is a language of its own. It’s that golden, crispy crust that forms when rice meets direct heat. It’s where the flavours concentrate and the texture becomes addictive. At Llisa Negra, socarrat isn’t an accident, it’s a deliberate act of cooking, refined until it becomes the star of the show.
In the words of Quique Dacosta himself:
“Socarrat is a factor that sometimes appears, but we’ve chosen to give it the lead role. We celebrate it now that we’ve mastered it. Back in 2017, I posted a video on social media and it went viral, everyone who watched it immediately wanted to taste it”.
And that’s how a dish was born, one that’s captivated thousands and has been a hit since the day it first appeared online in 2017.
The Socarrat at Llisa Negra Restaurant
Every Wednesday in our restaurant in Valencia, we serve this socarrat as a single, delicate sheet that gently lifts from the paella pan. This starter is meant to be eaten with your hands, bite by bite, with a gentle touch of allioli (aioli) to highlight its smoky, sea-infused flavour.
Wondering why it’s only available on Wednesdays? The answer is in the technique and dedication that its preparation requires. This is a precision dish, demanding careful control of heat, timing, and broth. That’s why at Llisa Negra, it’s available only by prior reservation, to ensure every piece is perfect.
How We Make It
Our socarrat is crafted with:
- Bomba rice, ideal for absorbing flavour and creating that signature dense texture, we first start to toast it with our sofrito (a slow-cooked mixture of aromatics that forms the base for the dish, with a main ingredient: olive oil).
- Flatfish and rockfish stock, full of flavour and natural collagen for richness and depth.
- Pimentón de la Vera (smoked paprika from La Vera): delivering an unmistakable smoky note.
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And we’re not here to keep all the secrets to ourselves, so here’s a sneak peek into the technique behind the dish (though the flavour, you’ll have to come and taste it yourself):
- Stock preparation: based on gelatin-rich rockfish heads, deeply concentrated.
- Traditional sofrito with paprika and tomato, used to toast the rice.
- Slow, even cooking across a non-stick paella pan to form that coveted crust. This precise heat application enables the Maillard Reaction*, the magical transformation where sugars and proteins caramelise, producing that toasted, complex flavour of real socarrat.
A socarrat is a caramelised rice, where the key lies in triggering the *Maillard Reaction, a non-enzymatic glycasylation where proteins and sugars interact under high temperatures, to create new compounds that transform the food’s colour, aroma, and flavour, unlocking intense, complex toasted flavours. The type of sugar, the type of protein, temperature, presence of metals, and the pH of the ingredients all influence the outcome. Thanks to this reaction, dry cooking methods bring out deep color changes, intensify aromas, and unlock bold, complex new flavors.
- The key: patience and timing to help temper and create a crust underneath that sets and doesn’t break.
- Then, at the table, we carefully lift the socarrat from the pan using a spatula to lift it out whole.
- Top it with a few dots of allioli (aioli) and it’s ready to devour.
- The result: a crisp sheet of caramelised rice that combines tradition, technique, and pure flavour from the sea.
Socarrat Variations
Quisquilla Socarrat with Allioli and Cod Fritter (2014)
An elegant appetiser that captures the essence of the traditional seafood dish: “arroz a banda”. A thin sheet of socarrat rolled into a cylinder, filled with a light allioli foam, topped with a confit Denia red prawn.
Socarrat-Style Puffed Rice (2016)
A playful snack with the same spirit as paella: made to be shared at the centre of the table. The rice is cooked with saffron, dehydrated and fried to become puffed and crispy, served atop a dried, seafood-infused socarrat base.
Socarrat (2017)
A single, compact sheet made from intense fish stock. Precision and timing are essential to bind the grains and lift it as a whole. A deeply flavourful dish to be enjoyed with your fingers, bite by bite.
Book Your Socarrat Experience
The Socarrat at Llisa Negra is available only on Wednesdays and only by a 24-hour prior reservation. If you’re a true rice lover, in all its forms, this is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to experience it like never before.
We look forward to welcoming you at Llisa Negra, Quique Dacosta’s restaurant in Valencia, where product, tradition, and technique come together in every bite.
Book your table now and secure your socarrat before it’s gone.
