Fideuà

Similar to a paella in that it is cooked in a large shallow pan, this lesser known seafood-rich dish uses pasta instead of rice as its base. Food Safari Water

• serves

  6

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  1:30 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

It is typically made with short thin noodles called fideos but spaghettini is a good substitute if you can’t find it.

Ingredients

• 125 ml (½ cup) olive oil
• 12 green medium tiger prawns, unpeeled 
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp sweet paprika 
• 2 tsp ground roasted nora peppers
• 500 g calamari, cleaned, scored and cut into 2-3 cm pieces
• 500 g snapper, flesh cut into 2-3 cm chunks, carcass reserved
• 500 g rock ling, flesh cut into 2-3 cm chunks, carcass reserved
• 500 g tuna, cut into 2-3 cm chunks
• Salt, to taste
• 500 g fideos or spaghettini, cut into 3 cm lengths (see Note)
• 250 ml (1 cup) tomato puree (see note)
• 2 pinches saffron threads (lightly crushed and steeped in some of the fish stock)
• ½ tsp saffron colouring (optional) 
• 500 g prawns, peeled and cleaned, shells reserved 
• 1 small bunch parsley, leaves picked and finely chopped
• 50 ml dry sherry
• ½ kg local black mussels, scrubbed and de-bearded
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• Alioli, to serve

Stock

• 1 leek, coarsely chopped
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped
• 4 large carrots, coarsely chopped
• 1 large ripe tomato, quartered

Instructions

Prepare all the seafood and reserve the prawn shells and fish carcasses and bones.

For the stock, place all ingredients in a large saucepan or stockpot. Add 5 litres water and the reserved prawn shells and fish bones and bring to the boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40 -60 minutes. Strain through a colander and discard the solids.

Heat the olive oil in a 60 cm paella pan over medium heat. Add the tiger prawns and fry for 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the onion and garlic, fry for 1 minute, then add the paprika and ground nora pepper. Add all the seafood, except the peeled prawns and mussels and mix well. Season to taste.

Add the spaghetti and stir gently for 3 minutes. Add the tomato puree, saffron, peeled prawns and 2 litres of the fish stock. Stir well to prevent anything from sticking to the base of the pan and simmer for 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked to your liking. Keep an eye on the pan and add a little more stock if needed. Top with the tiger prawns and parsley, then drizzle the sherry over the top. Nestle the mussels into the pan, then top with the lemon wedges. Remove from the heat and stand for 5 minutes before serving with aioli.

Note

• Fideo noodles are sold at some Latin grocery stores.

• Gerardo makes his own tomato puree – cooking diced onion, green capsicum and garlic in olive oil and adding tomato puree, a pinch of chilli flakes and a little salt, then simmering for 10-15 minutes.

Photography by Sharyn Cairns. Styling by Lee Blaylock. Food preparation by Rachel Lane. Creative concept by Belinda So.

Maeve O'Meara is back in Food Safari Water starting 8pm, Wednesday 1 August on SBS and then you can catch-up on all episodes via SBS On Demand. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

It is typically made with short thin noodles called fideos but spaghettini is a good substitute if you can’t find it.