Fideuà

Hei!

Here we come again with another typical catalan dish, fideua. This dish, is really simple and doesn't need much ingredients.

- Shrimps

- Squid

- Clams

- Garlic

- Onion

- Tomato

- Fish broth

- "Fideus"

What fideus are? Fideus are a kind of pasta, like spaghetti, but much thinner and much shorter.

Source: http://cambresbuides.blogspot.fi/2008/01/pensaments-inconnexes-xii.html

To make fideua is mandatory to use this type of pasta, you might not find it as thin as this one, doesn't matter, here in Finland I use this:

OK, let's start with the preparation, keep in mind, that all the time you are using the same pan, so if you can have a "paellera" is perfect, otherwise try to find the biggest pan you can use, because we want the meal to be cooked in a big surface but not too thick.

So, first, saute the peeled shrimps with little bit olive oil, salt and pepper. You don't want to cook them much, cause later will be cooked again with the broth, when ready reserve them aside. Same thing with the squid, which has been cut in little pieces or rings first. Reserve it aside too.

Chop really small a small onion and a small tomato and fry it, add couple chopped garlic nails, if you are as garlic addict as we are, put few more. Add as well one leave of laurel. Ok you are in the point where the "sofregit" (the mix of onion, tomato and garlic) is becoming ready so it is the time to put strong fire on and add the "fideus". You might want to add a bit more of olive oil, and the objective is, without stopping stirring, to give a nice toasted colour to the "fideus" (like in the first pic).

Once the colour of the "fideus" is mostly brownish, add the HOT fish broth, how much? I would say around double the volume of "fideus", but save some just in case you need more. I never know how much it is, but i have like a rule, always cover by half a centimetre the "fideus".

When the "fideus" are cooking and the broth is by the "fideus" level, add the shrimps, squid and clams, and then let it cook till the broth i almost gone.

Don't serve it right away, once you think is ready, let it rest for couple of minutes.

You can eat it with little bit of "all i oli". In here I added some chopper roast red peppers but didn't have clams. Hope you like it!