Spanish Fideua

Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote

Spanish Fideua

SPANISH FIDEUA 

Author : Marisa Lopez 

Origin of Fideuá :

The most widely accepted theory on the origin of this wonderful seaside dish states that it dates back to the early 20th century.

The story goes like this- the Santa Isabel fishing boat set sail to fish, as always, very early in the morning from the Port of Gandia in Alicante. When lunchtime came, the cook, who had planned on making a seafood paella, realised that he didn’t have any rice.

As he had already begun frying the rest of the ingredients and had everything ready, he had to improvise. He found some long fideos in the boat’s pantry, cut it up and used it in the same way he would have used the rice. The result was excellent and went down a treat among the boat’s crew.

Nowadays, the technique has evolved a little, for example, in terms of the toasting of the fideos, a key part of this dish.

One of the most important parts of a good fideua (or fideuá) is the fish broth or fumet. This stock is often made with rough fish or small rockfish but you can also use fish bones or prawn heads. 

Ingredients

  • 250 gr short Noodles (2 cups)
  • Fish broth. (Made with vegetables, heads and tails of prawns, parsley, fish heads and bones and water and boil 30 minutes)
  • Squids Tubs 250 g.
  • 250 g  Jumbo prawns 
  • 250 g of white fish (monkfish or as your taste)
  • Mussels (I use about 8 mussels without shells).
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • Smoked paprika
  • Chopped Tomatoes
  • Saffron
  • Roasted Red sweet Pepper

Elaboration :

  • Finely mince 3 cloves of garlic, cut 1 cleaned tube of squid into small 1 inch squares, grab 1 tail of monkfish and cut two fillets by running your knife through the line of the bone and cut each fillet in 1 inch pieces, season 12 raw jumbo prawns with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
  • Heat a paella pan with a medium-high heat and add a 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, 2 minutes later season the oil with sea salt and add the squid, mix with the oil and cook for 2 minutes, then remove the squid from the pan and set aside
  • Using the same pan with the same heat add the pieces of monkfish and cook for 5 minutes, turning them occasionally, after 5 minutes make a well in the middle and add the diced onions, 2 minutes later make another well and add the minced garlic, 30 seconds later add a generous 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika and mix everything together, then add 1/2 cup of tomato chopped, season everything with sea salt, pinch in 1/2 teaspoon of saffron threads, add the squid back into the pan and mix it all together, then add 2 cups of fideua noodles and mix together until well incorporated and cook for 2 minutes
  • Next add 2 1/2 cups of fish broth and gently mix to evenly distribute the noodles, once it comes to a boil add the prawns and mussels into the pan, at this point don´t mix anything, just give the pan a quick shake once in a while, 10 minutes after adding the broth lower the fire to a low-medium heat and simmer, 3 minutes later and there is very little broth left, remove the paella pan from the heat and cover with a dish towel and let it rest for 5 minutes, then uncover the pan and garnish with freshly chopped parsley and a couple slices of lemon, 

About the Author: Marisa Lopez Chicote is an event planner and mother of 5, living in Cairo and Muslim since 1985, alhamdullah. She loves travelling and cooking.

4 thoughts on “Spanish Fideua”

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