Albufera, Valencia
The defining dish of the Albufera lagoon near Valencia — a stew of eel (or, increasingly, monkfish or salt cod), potato, garlic, and pimentón, thickened with a mortar-ground picada of garlic and paprika. All-i-pebre translates from Valencian as garlic-and-pepper, which is also the seasoning logic: this dish is built around raw garlic intensity and paprika depth, with no sofrito base. Traditionally made with live eels from the Albufera, the dish is inseparable from the rice paddies and freshwater lagoon culture that also produced paella valenciana. The eel is cut into sections and cooked directly in the spiced oil and water broth — no initial browning.
The picada of raw garlic and paprika goes in at the beginning — this is not a finishing element. Use both sweet and hot pimentón in the ratio you prefer. The potato cooks in the broth and provides body. Eel is cleaned, cut in 5cm sections, added to the simmering broth. The stew should be loose, not thick — it is closer to soup than stew. No tomato is traditional.
If fresh eel is unavailable, monkfish tail cut in equal sections is the best substitute — the firm texture holds up similarly. The dish is served in the cazuela it was cooked in, always with white rice alongside (arroz a banda, often) or crusty bread. Pair with white Valencian wine from Utiel-Requena.
Adding tomato — not traditional, and it changes the dish's flavour profile entirely. Overcooking the eel — it becomes mushy. Using only sweet paprika — the dish requires some heat. Thickening with flour — the picada provides the body and should not be replaced.
The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden