Catalan Fideuà
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 2onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
- ½pound small shrimp, shell on
- 4large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 3small dried hot red peppers, or use 1 pinch cayenne
- ½teaspoon fennel seed
- ½teaspoon coriander seed
- 1large bay leaf
- A few thyme sprigs
- Salt and pepper
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 1½pounds meaty bones from cod, snapper or halibut, rinsed (or use boneless fish chunks)
- 12clams
- 1pound mussels, cleaned
- 1pound fideus noodles (dry), or use Italian fedelini or spaghettini
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- Pinch of saffron crumbled into ¼ cup water
- 1pound mussels, cleaned, for garnish
- ½pound large shrimp, shell on, for garnish (optional)
- 3tablespoons chopped parsley
- 1teaspoon orange zest
- Allioli, for garnish (see recipe)
For the Broth
For the Fideuà
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
487 calories; 18 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 20 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 60 grams protein; 1140 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the broth: Put 3 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until softened and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add small shrimp, garlic, hot pepper, fennel, coriander, bay leaf and thyme. Season generously with salt and pepper, stir to coat and cook 2 minutes more.
- Step 2
Stir in tomato paste and cook 5 minutes, until mixture begins to look dry. Add fish bones, clams, 1 pound mussels and 8 cups water; cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes.
- Step 3
Strain through a sturdy mesh sieve into another pot, pushing on solids with a wooden spoon. Discard solids and keep strained broth hot. Taste for salt. Broth should be well seasoned. (Can be made ahead, though eat it within 24 hours, or you can freeze it.)
- Step 4
Make the fideuà: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Put fideus noodles in a large roasting pan or baking sheet. (If using Italian pasta, break it into 2-inch lengths first.) Pour 2 tablespoons olive oil over noodles and toss with hands to coat. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, turning with tongs if necessary, until noodles are golden brown. (May be done in advance.)
- Step 5
Place a cazuela or wide heavy pot on the stove. Add toasted noodles, pressing down a bit. Ladle 3 cups hot broth over noodles and bring to a boil. Push down on the noodles with a wooden spoon as they soften into the broth. Add saffron-infused water and cook for a minute, then stir to mix. Add enough hot broth to cover pasta by 1 inch. Lower heat and cook at a simmer for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add more broth (and adjust heat) if mixture dries out.
- Step 6
Scatter remaining 1 pound mussels over the top, then push them down until barely submerged. Cook 3 to 4 minutes, until shells open. Turn off heat. The noodles should be cooked but firm, and the mixture a little soupy.
- Step 7
If using the large shell-on shrimp, season them and sauté in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat for 2 minutes per side.
- Step 8
Ladle into individual soup plates. Mix the parsley with the orange zest. Garnish fideus with shrimp, if using, the parsley mixture and a spoonful of allioli.
- A clarification on the name of this recipe: Fideus is the name of the noodles used in the dish. Fideuà is the dish made with these noodles.
Private Notes
Comments
The broth is delicious. No doubt about that. But I did find the finished product much too soupy. I have had quite a few Fideuà, even a few in Barcelona, and this one is just too soupy and the noodles not firm enough given the time to cook off that much broth. I would say instead of putting in broth to cover by 1" in Step 5 you should just cover the noodles and also cook at a higher heat than a simmer. That is what I will try next time.
While this recipe is pretty decent, note that the dish originated in Gandía, Comunidad Valenciana, not Cataluña. I think a little research of the story would have been great as it is a pretty funny and smart story. The original recipe is not baked but cooked like a regular seafood paella (arroz a banda) but with noodles or elbow pasta instead of rice. Baking is a more common practice in the south of the comunidad valenciana and it provides a drier dish.
Add artichoke hearts, red and green bell pepper, and peas to up veggie content.
Orzo worked great! I used clam juice to make my broth bc as another reader pointed out, I didn’t want to waste delicious seafood to make a broth. Asking for fish heads or bones at the fish market would also make a great broth. I also took the suggestion to add artichoke hearts, olives and peppers. My guests felt very pampered on a cold Feb rvening
Fennel and coriander seeds? If Lluis Comoanys came back to life and saw this..
Most delicious! The orange zest, olives parsley touches a must, the broth was perfect. I'll make it exactly again with lobster as we live in Maine! The broth fish etc. were perfect to make a new soup with coconut. Why not?!