Recipe: Fideua (Valencian Pasta)

FIDEUA (VALENCIAN PASTA)

This is a pasta dish cooked in a Paella pan. The pasta is cooked in an intensely flavored fish stock so that it absorbs the flavor. The stock can be based on fish, prawns or clams. Fideua is always served with garlic mayonnaise (alioli).

1 pound clams
1/2 cup white wine
1 bottle or can of clam juice
1/4 cup Spanish olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Spanish sweet pimenton (paprika)
1 Nora dried red pepper, broken open & seeded and stemmed
6 Piquillo peppers
1 large tomato, grated(cut tomato in half, shake out seeds and grate, discarding skin)
pinch of saffron
1 lb bag of fideo (spagettis) pasta

Steam clams in white wine until they open. Drain, reserving juice .

Meanwhile, in a Paella pan, saute the onion in the olive oil until limp and translucent.

Add garlic and continue cooking until soft.

Stir in paprika and Nora pepper pieces and then add the tomatoes and saffron. Cook for a minute and add reserved clam juice and Piquillo.

Remove from heat and puree this mixture in a food processor. Measure the resulting puree adding the bottled clam juice and water to make 6 cups.

Pour into Paella pan and bring to a boil, add noodles. Cook until liquid absorbed 12-15 minutes.

Place reserved clams on top.

Wine: Fideua pairs well with a lighter Spanish red from Rioja, a dry rose from Navarra or a white Verdejo from Rueda.

Servings: 6
Source: Spanish Table; Seattle, Washington