Fideuà
A Valencian paella made with short, hollow noodles instead of rice. Comes with allioli on the side.
Fideuà swaps paella's rice for fideos, a short hollow noodle. Same wide flat pan, same seafood stock, same logic. The cook toasts the noodles in oil first, then pours in the stock with cuttlefish, prawns and rockfish and lets the liquid disappear into the pasta. The top crisps a little, the bottom toasts like a paella's socarrat, and a bowl of garlic allioli arrives alongside. Tradition pins the invention on Gandia, a port town south of Valencia, in the early 20th century.
How it's served
Served straight from the pan to the table with a spoon of allioli on the side. Spoon the sauce over each portion as you serve it; the contrast of garlic emulsion against the toasted pasta is the point.
Regional variation
Valencian fideuà uses short straight noodles; Catalan kitchens often use slightly curlier fideus and lean more on the cuttlefish than the prawns. Both versions live or die on the stock.
- Origin
- Gandia, Valencia (traditional attribution)
- Etymology
- From the Valencian fideu ('noodle').
Where to try it in Barcelona
3 restaurants on Guidavera mention fideuà in their kitchen description.
Frequently asked
What's the difference between fideuà and paella?
Fideuà is built like paella, in the same wide pan with the same stock-and-toast logic, but uses short hollow noodles instead of rice. Both dishes finish dry, with a crispy bottom and a smoky aroma from the pan.
Why do you eat fideuà with allioli?
The garlic-and-oil emulsion cuts through the richness of the toasted pasta and seafood. A spoonful goes on each portion as you serve. Some restaurants now substitute aïoli (the egg-based version) for stability, but the traditional pairing is allioli.
Where did fideuà come from?
Tradition attributes it to Gandia, a fishing port south of Valencia, in the early 20th century. The story goes that a deckhand on a boat ran out of rice for the crew's paella and substituted noodles. Whether or not the story's true, the dish is Gandian.
Related terms
- PaellaValencian rice dish cooked in a wide flat pan over fire. The original is chicken, rabbit, snails and beans, not seafood.
- SocarratThe crackly, caramelized layer of rice stuck to the bottom of a paella pan. The bit most diners reach for first.
- AllioliPungent Catalan emulsion of garlic and olive oil. Traditionally no egg. Eaten with grilled meats, paella and fish.
- Arròs negreJet-black rice cooked paella-style in a wide flat pan with squid, cuttlefish and the squid's own ink. Served with allioli on the side.
- NyoraSmall, round, sun-dried sweet red pepper. The defining ingredient in romesco and a backbone of many Catalan, Valencian and Murcian dishes.
- PicadaA pounded paste of nuts, garlic, parsley and sometimes fried bread, stirred into a Catalan stew at the end to thicken and finish it.
- SofritoA slow-cooked base of onion, tomato and garlic in olive oil. The starting point for most Spanish rice dishes, stews and sauces.
- Suquet de peixA Catalan fisherman's stew of white fish and potatoes, thickened with an almond-garlic picada.