Fideuà (Valencian Seafood Noodle Dish)

Toasted short noodles cooked like paella with prawns, squid and mussels, served with alioli.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 25 min
Cook: 40 min
Total: 1 hour 5 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Medium

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 ripe tomato, grated, skin discarded
  • 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
  • A good pinch of saffron strands, about 0.3g
  • 300g fideo or thin vermicelli, broken into 3cm pieces
  • 750ml hot fish stock (2 stock cubes)
  • 200g squid rings
  • 8 raw king prawns, in their shells
  • 300g live mussels, scrubbed and debearded
  • For the alioli: 6 tbsp mayonnaise
  • For the alioli: 1 small clove garlic, crushed
  • For the alioli: 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. Discard any mussels with cracked shells and any open mussels that do not close when tapped. Mix the alioli ingredients and chill. Soak the saffron in 3 tbsp of the hot stock.

  2. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a 38cm paella pan or very wide, shallow frying pan over a medium heat. Toast the noodles for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until golden brown. Tip onto a plate.

  3. Add the remaining oil to the pan and cook the onion for 6 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato and paprika and cook for 4 minutes, then add the squid and cook for 2 minutes.

  4. Pour in the hot stock and saffron liquid, season and bring to the boil. Add the noodles, spread them out and simmer for 5 minutes without stirring.

  5. Nestle in the prawns and mussels and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the noodles have absorbed the liquid, the prawns are pink and the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that stay closed.

  6. Rest for 3 minutes and serve with the alioli and lemon wedges.