Fideuà

Short, thin noodles are toasted and cooked in a seafood stock with prawns, squid and monkfish in a wide pan, much like paella but with pasta. Born among Valencian fishermen, it is served with garlicky allioli.

Fideuà originated in the fishing communities of Valencia, Spain, most popularly associated with the port town of Gandía. The most widely repeated story holds that a fisherman's cook substituted short noodles for rice in a paella-style dish when rice was unavailable, a tale that is commonly cited but whose exact details are debated. The dish emerged from the practical need to feed crews aboard fishing boats, using the day's catch and a simple stock made from shellfish shells and fish bones.

Traditionally, fideuà is cooked in the same wide, shallow pan as paella, with thin, short noodles toasted in olive oil before being simmered in a rich seafood stock alongside prawns, squid, and monkfish. It is typically finished with a squeeze of lemon and served with a generous dollop of garlicky allioli, a hallmark of its Valencian identity. While the core preparation remains consistent along the Mediterranean coast, regional variations might adjust the seafood mix or the noodle thickness, but the dish is proudly distinct from rice-based paella and stands as a celebrated specialty of Spain's eastern coastline.