A Valencian-Catalan coastal dish where thin fideos noodles replace rice in a paella-style preparation, cooked with shrimp, mussels, and squid in a saffron-tomato broth until the noodles develop a crispy socarrat bottom.
Ingredients
300g thin fideos noodles (size 0 or 2)
300g large shrimp, shell on
250g mussels, cleaned
200g squid, sliced into rings
1 liter fish stock
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 ripe tomatoes, grated
1 tsp sweet pimentón
Pinch of saffron
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Aioli for serving
Instructions
1Heat olive oil in a paellera. Sear shrimp and squid over high heat for 2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
2In the same oil, sauté garlic briefly, add grated tomato and pimentón. Cook 5 minutes until deep red.
3Add fideos noodles and toast them in the sauce for 2 minutes, stirring to coat.
4Pour in hot fish stock with dissolved saffron. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 8 minutes.
5Nestle shrimp, squid, and mussels into the noodles. Cook 5 more minutes until mussels open and noodles have absorbed the broth.
6Increase heat for the last minute to develop a crispy socarrat on the bottom. Serve with aioli.
Did You Know?
Fideuà was allegedly invented by a fisherman from Gandía whose crew preferred noodles over rice — he substituted fideos and a legend was born.