Version from Spain
fideuà — Spain
Fideuà bakes short noodles in a saffron seafood stock alongside shrimp, squid, and mussels, browning in a wide shallow pan.
- 20 min
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 4
- Servings
- Medium
- Difficulty
Fideuà is a noodle dish built on the same wide, shallow pan and cooking method as paella, but replacing rice with short, thin noodles called fideos. It is generally built around seafood and is finished with the noodles absorbing the stock rather than being boiled separately.
The dish is reported from the Valencian region, an autonomous community of Spain, and its name is known locally under a few related forms depending on the language spoken. It is served straight from the cooking pan, often with a spoonful of garlic mayonnaise on the side.
A base of onion, garlic, and red pepper is softened in olive oil, followed by grated tomato cooked down into a thick sofrito. Seafood is added and briefly seared, then the noodles are stirred in and lightly toasted before hot saffron-infused fish stock is poured over everything and left to simmer undisturbed.
What distinguishes fideuà from paella itself is the use of noodles instead of rice, which toast in the sofrito before absorbing the stock and develop a browned, slightly crisp top layer known as socarrat, much like the crust prized at the base of a well-made paella.
Preparation
Heat the olive oil in a wide shallow pan.
Sauté the chopped onion, garlic, and red pepper until softened.
Add the grated tomatoes and cook until the mixture thickens into a sofrito.
Add the shrimp, squid, and mussels, and cook briefly until they start to colour.
Stir in the noodles and toast them for a couple of minutes in the sofrito.
Pour in the hot fish stock and saffron, and season with salt.
Simmer without stirring until the noodles absorb the liquid and the top turns golden.
Let the dish rest briefly off the heat before serving directly from the pan.
