Fideuá de Pescado y Mariscos – Fish and Seafood Noodles

Chica Andaluza

If Paella and Arroz Caldoso are half sisters to the Italian Risotto, then Paella and Fideuá are first cousins. The famous Paella is known to most of us, a delicious rice and seafood (or meat) dish which comes from the Valencia region of North East Spain. Less well known, outside of Spain at least, is its cousin…the Fideuá. It´s very similar to a paella but made with Fideos (short noodles). Fideos come in different sizes in Spain from very thin (called Angel Hair pasta) for dropping into broth right through to almost the thickness of spaghetti. This dish tends to use the ones at the thicker end of the scale, as they need to stand up to a little while cooking in the delicious broth.

Fideua de Mariscos (7)

Amounts used are flexible, use what you have, and play around with the ingredients. Like arroz caldoso, it’s quicker to cook than a paella and is a typical everyday lunch dish, for tucking into with a spoon (a plato de cuchara – a “spoon” dish), with lemon juice squeezed over and plenty of delicious bread. We can’t decide if we prefer arroz caldoso or fideuá caldosa – try them both and let me know what you think! I know Celia from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial enjoys making Arroz Caldoso for her family…Celia, I hope you like this version too!

Approximate Ingredients for 4 people (as a main dish)

  • 250g prawns (less if already peeled) – if they have the shells on peel them and use them to make a fish stock, if not use water or a cube
  • About 250g of mixed fish and shellfish (I used some white fish fillets but when I have mussels or clams I add them in too)
  • Half a red pepper finely chopped
  • A thin green pepper, finely chopped
  • A couple of tablespoons of peas
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 large tomato peeled and finely chopped or half a cup of tomato conserva
  • 1 tablespoon of tomato purée
  • 1 teaspoon of sweet pimentón
  • A pinch of saffron
  • Seasoning
  • Olive oil
  • Approx 400g Fideos

Start by making a sofrito or tomato sauce. Lightly fry the garlic until soft then add the peppers and peas. Add the pimentón and saffron, cover the pan and let everything sweat gently until soft then add the tomato. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

Fideua de Mariscos (6)

For 4 people (and a soupy fideuá) add about 1.5 litres of stock and simmer for a further 10 minutes. If you have a paella pan, cazuela or a deep frying pan that you can use to serve, transfer the liquid to this. Now add your fideos – about 100g per person, but follow any guidelines on the packet. When they are about half cooked, add the fish (biggest chunks first) then the shellfish. Taste and season as necessary.

For a thick, dryer dish (more the consistency of a paella) you may need to use less liquid or just cook this way and spoon out some of the liquid at the end (save it for a light soup with some thin fideos thrown in!). Equally, if it looks a little dry as you are cooking it, just add a ladleful or two of hot stock.

Serve like paella with lemon juice, crusty bread and wine. A spoonful of alioli is also great with this dish.

Like a paella, you can vary the ingredients to make your fideuá according to what you have available. Make it veggie, or use meat instead of fish. It may not be absolutely authentic, but the influence will be there and the taste will be just as good!

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62 thoughts on “Fideuá de Pescado y Mariscos – Fish and Seafood Noodles”

  1. I’m jealous, I absolutely love fideuà, especially with a big dollop of Allioli. I believe that when the noodles stand on end it’s an indication that the dish is cooked 😉

    Reply

    1. So says Rick Stein – and I know that in some places they fry the noodles first to toast them and then you cover them at the end so that they rise up! Mine would never do that as we like them drowning in caldo so they re focused on swimming instead 😉

      Reply

      1. Ha ha – that’s exactly who I was quoting, but I remember him cooking it with some Catalans in Spain, so assume it’s correct and it does tend to look like it’s standing up in all the restaurants I’ve had it in, in Barcelona. However, it’s officially a Valencian dish, like Paella, so I think I need to go to the Fideuà International Contest in Gandia to find out for sure 😉

  3. I want to come and visit for as long as it takes to work through all of your wonderful recipes. Think I might have to bring my kitties and Pete along for the trip too.
    Have a beautiful day Tanya.
    🙂 Mandy xo

    Reply

  5. So many choices with this dish, Tanya, and all of them sounding delicious! Or is that just because it’s time for tea? 🙂 I better get me to the kitchen!

    Reply

      1. I’ve been dying to make it – just waiting for someone from Spain to visit us and bring us a pack of noodles 😉

      3. Good thinking! It’s much more straightforward than inviting my brother-in-law every time we fell like it 😉

  9. *big smile* – barf77 got ahead of me ’cause all the time I read about this deliciousness I thought ‘Well, that is how I make’ thinking of a number of Asian dishes common here using somewhat different ingredients but same methodology 🙂 !! Noodles included of course!!!

    Reply

    1. Round your side of the world you’ve really cracked the art of including Asian cuisine as a regular part of the diet – I loved it when I was there!

      Reply

  13. We tried your last fideua ( this was just auto changed to hideous – glad i was paying attention!) dish which we enjoyed so I will be trying this one too.

    Reply

    1. How funny – (the auto change that is!) Glad you liked it – we make it often as it’s a pretty quick dish to pull together once you get into your rythmn!

      Reply

  16. I haven’t had fideua since I lived in Miami. When I had it, the noodles had been toasted like you mentioned in your comment with Mad Dog. Either way, it is a delicious dish.

    Reply
  27. Pingback: The Emperor’s New Clothes – Red Emperor (Snapper), Pargo Rojo | Chica Andaluza

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