Fideua
Toasted noodle paella with seafood
Ingredients
- 400 g Wheat noodles
- 300 g Shrimp
- 300 g Monkfish
- 1 Onion
- ½ tin San Marzano tomatoes (DOP)
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 tsp Pimenton dulce (sweet smoked paprika)
- ¼ g Saffron
- 1200 ml Chicken stock
- 80 ml Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 3 tbsp Parsley (optional)
Method
- Warm the stock in a saucepan and bloom the saffron in it.
- Break the noodles into short lengths.
- Peel the shrimp, saving the shells. Cut the monkfish into chunks.
- Mince the onion. Grate the garlic. Grate the tomatoes through a box grater.
- Toast the broken noodles in a glug of olive oil in the paellera over medium heat until amber, then tip them onto a plate.
- Add the remaining oil and sauté the shrimp shells to flavour the oil, then discard the shells.
- In the same oil, build the sofregit (the slow-cooked aromatic base of onion, garlic, and tomato): cook the onion until soft, then add the garlic and tomato and cook down until jammy.
- Off the heat, stir in the pimentón for about 10 seconds.
- Return to high heat. Pour in the saffron stock and bring to a rolling boil. Check the salt.
- Scatter the toasted noodles evenly. Arrange the monkfish on top. Do not stir.
- Boil hard, then add the shrimp and cook until the noodles are tender and the seafood is just done.
- Crank the heat to crisp the bottom into a socarrat — listen for the crackle.
- Off the heat, cover with a clean cloth and rest.
- Shower with the parsley and serve from the pan.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Fideua
Fideuà is the noodle counterpart to paella, a Valencian and Catalan specialty that swaps the usual rice for short wheat noodles, or fideos, cooked in a wide paellera until the ends stand up and crisp. Legend holds it was invented by fishermen who wanted more of the broth's flavor in each bite, and the dish keeps that seafood soul: here shrimp and monkfish are simmered into a base perfumed with saffron and smoked paprika. Two techniques give it depth — toasting the broken noodles in oil until amber, and sautéing the shrimp shells to infuse the cooking oil before building the sofregit, the slow-cooked onion, garlic, and tomato base that anchors Catalan cooking.
Eating fideuà is a study in savory concentration: each noodle drinks up the saffron-scented, seafood-rich stock, and the toasted ends deliver a nutty chew you don't get from pasta boiled the usual way. It is traditionally served straight from the pan with a dollop of garlicky allioli stirred through, whose sharp richness cuts the intensity of the broth. This is celebratory, share-the-pan food, the kind of thing made for a long weekend lunch with friends. The care taken with the sofregit and the shell-infused oil is what elevates it above a simple noodle dish into something genuinely worth the hour.
Fideua: frequently asked questions
What's the difference between fideuà and paella?
The main difference is the base: paella uses rice, while fideuà uses short, thin noodles (fideos). Both originated in the Valencian Community, are cooked in the same wide, shallow pan on a similar seafood-and-sofrito foundation, and fideuà is essentially a noodle version of seafood paella, said to have originated among fishermen near Gandia. Fideuà is often served with allioli (garlic-oil sauce) and paella comes in many forms (seafood, Valencian rabbit-and-chicken, mixed); note that the prized crisp caramelized bottom crust—socarrat in rice—is not exclusive to paella, as fideuà is likewise cooked dry to form a toasted noodle crust.
How many calories are in Fideua?
A serving has about 530 calories — 31.9g protein, 61.4g carbs, 17g fat, 3.5g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 31.9g of protein, roughly 24% of its calories.
Is Fideua gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Wheat noodles. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
How long does Fideua take to make?
About 60 minutes start to finish, but only around 29 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Fideua?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out parsley — it's optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Fideua make?
This recipe makes 6 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.