Fideuà Marinera with Allioli

About this dish

Fideuà was invented as a workaround, not a tradition someone set out to build: as the story from Gandía goes, a boat cook made paella for the crew so often that the captain got sick of rice, so the cook swapped it for pasta on a whim and the dish stuck. That origin explains why fideuà is cooked exactly like a seafood paella in every way except the grain — same wide shallow pan, same undisturbed simmer, same prized crust on the bottom, called socarrat whether it's under rice or noodles. The allioli on the side is a Valencian habit that travelled with the dish: strong enough to cut through the richness of the seafood, and deliberately kept separate so each diner can spoon on as little or as much as they want.

• Lactose-free
• Not vegetarian because of Fish stock, Raw prawns, peeled, Fresh mussels, cleaned, Squid, cleaned
• Contains gluten because of Fideos (short vermicelli noodles)

• 6clovesGarlic cloves
• 200gRipe tomatoes
• 60mlExtra-virgin olive oil
• 5gSweet smoked paprika
• 1gSaffron threads
• 400gFideos (short vermicelli noodles)
• 1000mlFish stock
• 8gFine sea salt
• 300gRaw prawns, peeled
• 300gFresh mussels, cleaned
• 300gSquid, cleaned
• 1largeEggs
• 10mlLemon juice

Instructions

1. 1

   Fry the chopped garlic in the olive oil in a wide, shallow pan, then add the grated tomato and cook until it reduces to a dark, jammy paste.

   10 min

   Tip: Take the tomato all the way down to a real paste, not a chunky sauce — this base is the whole flavour foundation the noodles will absorb, and a watery sofrito makes a watery fideuà.

2. 2

   Stir in the paprika and saffron, then add the fideos and toast them in the sofrito for a couple of minutes.

   5 min

   Tip: Toasting the noodles briefly in the oil before any liquid goes in is what gives them a slightly nutty edge and helps them hold their shape instead of turning to mush once the stock is added.

3. 3

   Pour in the hot fish stock, season with salt, and scatter the prawns, mussels and squid evenly over the pan. Simmer without stirring until the liquid is absorbed and the noodles stand upright.

   15 min

   Tip: Never stir a fideuà once the stock goes in, exactly as with paella — stirring breaks up the noodles and destroys the crisp crust forming underneath, which is most of the point of cooking it this way.

4. 4

   Take the pan off the heat and let it rest for a few minutes before serving.

   5 min

   Tip: This short rest lets the last of the stock finish absorbing and the socarrat set properly — serving straight off the heat means cutting into noodles that haven't quite finished.

5. 5

   Meanwhile, make the allioli: blend the egg with the crushed garlic and lemon juice, then drizzle in the olive oil slowly while blending until it emulsifies into a thick, pale sauce.

   5 min

   Tip: Add the oil in a thin, slow stream rather than all at once — allioli is an emulsion like mayonnaise, and oil poured in too fast is the single most common reason it splits instead of thickening.

6. 6

   Serve the fideuà hot straight from the pan, with a bowl of allioli alongside for spooning over individual portions.

   2 min

   Tip: Keep the allioli in its own bowl rather than stirring it through the whole pan — its raw garlic punch is meant to be added to taste bite by bite, not blended evenly into every noodle.