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Fideos Casa Mono Style

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Author’s Notes

Fideos (or fideuà) are a dish typical of the coast of Valencia in Spain. Similar to paella, but with noodles instead of rice, this Spanish dish is a seafood-lover’s paradise. This video and this dish are bringing out some major Spain On The Road Again vibes!!

Source: Mario Batali

Ingredients

For the saffron broth

  • 1 quart chicken stock
  • 1 cup Spanish Cava
  • 1 generous pinch Saffron

For the sweet garlic aioli

  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 cup sweet sherry
  • 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
  • 2 egg yolks
  • 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • salt and pepper, to taste

For the Fideos

  • ½ package angel hair pasta
  • ¼ cup diced chorizo
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced on a mandolin
  • 12 cockles or littleneck clams
  • 2 cups saffron broth
  • 1 tablespoon red chili flakes
  • ¼ cup sea beans
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons sweet garlic aioli
  • extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
  • ½ lime
  • 2 tablespoons chopped chives

Instructions

Make the saffron broth

  1. Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to 3 cups
  2. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, cool, and reserve until ready to cook the fideos.

Make the sweet garlic aioli

  1. Add garlic cloves and sherry to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it reaches a syrupy consistency and the garlic is caramelized. Cool.
  2. In food processor, blend garlic with sherry vinegar and egg yolks. With the blender running, very slowly begin adding the oil in a fine stream to emulsify. Continue in this fashion until you have blended in about a quarter of the oil. Begin adding the oil a little more quickly, continuing to blend as you drizzle it in until the aioli is thick. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slowly add blended olive oil emulsify.

Make the Fideos

  1. Break pasta into smaller pieces about 1-2 inches long. Spread them out on a baking sheet and place in a 350 F oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until slightly darkened. Remove from oven and set aside.
  2. In a large sauté pan (one that has a lid) over medium to high heat render the diced chorizo with 1 tablespoon olive oil until the oil begins to take on a red glow from the chorizo, then quickly add your garlic, fideos, cockles and red chili flakes and sprinkle with salt. Cover the pan with a lid
  3. After about 60 seconds your cockles should start to open. Once opened, remove them and set aside in a cazuela (or small baking dish). Discard any cockles that do not open after a few minutes.
  4. Continue to cook pasta in the pan and add the sea beans. Once your stock has evaporated, check the pasta for doneness.
  5. Spoon the cooked pasta, along with the chorizo, sea beans and garlic, into the cazuela on top of the cockles, using the cockles as support to build it high.
  6. Cook under a broiler for a few minutes, just until pasta is toasted at the edges.
  7. Remove from broiler, dress with a drizzle of olive oil and the juice of half a lime. Then add a large dollop of sweet garlic aioli, sprinkle with chopped chives, and serve immediately.