A Bold, Aromatic Seafood Fideuà

Seafood fideuà is one of our holiday favorites because of its show—stopping presentation and minimal prep time. Similar to paella, this dish hails from Valencia, Spain and is chock—full of juicy seafood simmered in a flavorful broth. The big difference is that fideuà uses noodles instead of rice, which keeps it nice and light.

Seafood Fideuà

Ingredients:

— 1 lb egg vermicelli
— ½ teaspoon saffron threads
— 1 cup dry white wine
— 4 cups of seafood stock. Can be replaced with chicken stock.
— 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
— 1 ripe tomato, finely chopped
— ½ red bell pepper, finely chopped
— 3 garlic cloves
— 1 cup frozen or fresh English peas
— 1 lb mussels
— 1 lb little neck clams
— 3 lobster tails
— Olive oil
— Dried chilis
— Salt and pepper to taste
— Parsley for garnish

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat broth in a saucepan. Add saffron threads and let steep for 10 minutes. Taste broth and add a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste.
3. In a paella pan or large cast iron skillet, add olive oil and vermicelli. Lightly toast vermicelli and then place into a bowl.
4. In the same pan or skillet, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 grated garlic clove, tomato and red bell pepper and sauté for approx. 5 minutes or until soft, then add peas.
5. Add vermicelli back into the pan and mix with the vegetables.
6. Flatten out the mixture so that it covers the entire pan. Then slowly add in broth, one ladle at a time. Once you start adding the broth do not mix any of the ingredients otherwise the bottom will not get crispy!
7. If you’re using a noodle other than vermicelli, you might need less or more liquid than 4 cups of stock. Just make sure your noodles aren’t too dry or too wet.
8. While the broth is slowly being added to the vermicelli, add 2 smashed garlic cloves and olive oil to another pot. Once the garlic starts to sizzle and the oil is infused, layer in lobster and let cook for 5 minutes, lid off. Next, layer in clams, mussel and shrimp and add 1 cup of white wine. Add a pinch of salt and dried chili if you want a little spice. Cover pot and let the seafood steam for approx. 5-7 minutes or until the clams, mussels and shrimp are cooked.
9. Nestle the seafood into the vermicelli and add a splash of the jus if the fideuà is needing more liquid.
10. Place fideuà into the oven for another 10 minutes until the clams and mussels open up and the vermicelli on top is crisp.
11. Garnish with parsley. Bon appetit!