Gandía-Style Seafood Fideuá

Name: Gandía-Style Seafood Fideuá
Prep time: 50 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 raciones
Cuisine: Valencian Community
Ingredients: 400 g Special Fideuá pasta (No. 3 or short hollow noodles); 8 units Fresh red prawns or langoustines; 4 units Scampi (Norway lobsters); 400 g Clean cuttlefish (saving the brown milt if possible); 1 kg Rock fish and bones (for the broth); 3 tablespoons Crushed natural pear tomato; 1 unit Garlic clove (for the sofrito); 1 teaspoon Sweet smoked paprika (De la Vera); A pinch Pure saffron threads; 70 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil; To taste Flaky salt

Valencian Community

Olivo, sol y sal, Sumérgete y disfruta, El sabor de la familia

SeafoodTraditionalDairy-FreeMediterranean

4
servings
525 kcal/serving
50 minutos
medio

Ingredients

Special Fideuá pasta (No. 3 or short hollow noodles)
400 g
Fresh red prawns or langoustines
8 units
Scampi (Norway lobsters)
4 units
Clean cuttlefish (saving the brown milt if possible)
400 g
Rock fish and bones (for the broth)
1000 g
Crushed natural pear tomato
45 ml
Garlic clove (for the sofrito)
1 unit
Sweet smoked paprika (De la Vera)
5 g
Pure saffron threads
1 g
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
70 ml
Flaky salt
10 g

Utensils needed

About this recipe

Fideuá was born, according to legend, on the fishing boats of Gandía when the cook ran out of rice for paella and decided to chop spaghetti instead.

Today it is one of the greatest jewels of the Spanish Mediterranean.

Unlike Italian boiled pasta, here the raw noodles (preferably thick, hollow macaroni-like fideos) are first toasted in oil to seal them, and then hydrated by directly absorbing a powerful rock fish broth and the essences of sautéed seafood (prawns, scampi, and cuttlefish).

The result is a dry pasta, standing erect towards the sky (if the noodle is hollow) and loaded with a deep flavor of the sea.

It is obligatorily accompanied by an authentic homemade garlic aioli.

Instructions

Prepare the fish broth (Fumet). In a large pot with a splash of oil, quickly sauté the rock fish. Cover with 2 liters of water and simmer gently for strictly 20 minutes (no more, to avoid bitter flavors). Strain and keep the broth boiling.

You will need:

1 kgRock fish and bones (for the broth)

While the broth is cooking, level the paella pan over the heat. Add the Extra Virgin Olive Oil and heat over medium flame. Add the scampi and prawns. Sauté them very quickly on both sides just to flavor the oil with their juices and shells. Remove them to a plate and set aside.

You will need:

8 unitsFresh red prawns or langoustines4 unitsScampi (Norway lobsters)70 mlExtra Virgin Olive Oil

In the same paella pan with the seafood-flavored oil, add the cuttlefish cut into small dice (and its milt if you kept it, which provides a deep dark color). Sauté over medium-high heat until it loses its water, begins to 'sizzle', and browns.

You will need:

400 gClean cuttlefish (saving the brown milt if possible)

Add the very finely chopped garlic to the cuttlefish. Give it a couple of quick stirs and incorporate the crushed tomato. Fry the tomato well until it reduces, the water evaporates, and it thickens, separating from the oil (the key step of the Valencian 'sofrito').

You will need:

1 unitGarlic clove (for the sofrito)3 tablespoonsCrushed natural pear tomato

With the tomato well fried, move the paella pan slightly off the heat. Add a heaping teaspoon of sweet paprika. Stir rapidly for only 5 seconds so it doesn't burn or turn bitter. Return to the heat and pour in the dry noodles.

You will need:

1 teaspoonSweet smoked paprika (De la Vera)400 gSpecial Fideuá pasta (No. 3 or short hollow noodles)

Toast the raw noodles with the sofrito over low heat for 3 or 4 minutes. They must acquire a shiny and slightly toasted color, absorbing all the fat from the sofrito. This sealing is vital so the pasta doesn't overcook later and absorbs the broth optimally.

Pour the fish broth (which must be boiling vigorously) over the paella pan. The ratio is usually twice the volume of broth to noodles (approx. 800ml), but depends on the pasta. Start by adding enough broth to just cover the noodles. Scatter the saffron threads.

You will need:

A pinchPure saffron threads

Distribute the noodles evenly throughout the paella pan. From this moment on, the fideuá must not be stirred again! Cook over high heat for the first 5 minutes so the broth penetrates the pasta.

Lower to medium heat for the last minutes of cooking. When there are 3 minutes left for the broth to evaporate completely (the noodles should peek above the liquid level), arrange the reserved prawns and scampi attractively on top so they heat up and finish cooking with the steam.

When there is no liquid left and you hear the bottom start to sizzle intensely (a sign that the noodle is touching the oil and starting to toast at the base or 'socarrat'), turn off the heat. If the noodle is hollow, you will notice the tips curve and point proudly upwards.

Let the fideuá rest off the heat for 5 minutes. Covering it with newspaper (old Valencian tradition) or a clean cotton cloth helps finish cooking it with steam and makes the pasta stand up. Serve it at the table in the pan itself and accompany it (mandatory) with a good bowl of homemade Aioli.