Traditional fideuà de Gandia recipe

Fideuà de Gandia is made with very few things, and all of them have to be in the right place: a good rockfish stock, a noodle of a set thickness and just the right time in the pan. The recipe follows that of Turisme Comunitat Valenciana, with quantities for six.

Number 3 noodles

The two institutional recipes, the Comunitat Valenciana one and the Diputació de València one, agree on using number 3 noodles, 600 g for six people. Those noodles take between 10 and 12 minutes to cook, and the timing of the whole recipe hangs on it. Not all cooks think alike: in a Directo al Paladar article, the honorary president of the Gandia fideuà gastronomic association argues for compact number 4, and the article notes that other cooks prefer number 2. We follow the institutional sources and use number 3. If you buy another size, adjust the minutes.

The stock, made in advance

The stock has its own recipe. The Diputació de València asks for 1.5 kg of morralla (small rockfish) from the Gandia fish market, with tomato, onion, ñora pepper, leek, carrot and parsley. The fish is fried first in hot oil, then the vegetables; 5 litres of cold water are added, it is skimmed when it comes to the boil and strained after 40 minutes. It is work to do ahead, and it is the flavour of the dish: without the stock, fideuà is just noodles with seafood.

If you’d rather not follow that recipe, our recipe collection has a fish fumet, also made with rockfish, which makes about 2 litres: exactly what this fideuà asks for with 600 g of noodles, a little over three times their weight. Turespaña, with another recipe, gives the same proportion. Both institutional recipes ask for the stock very hot when you pour it in; if you made it the day before, bring it to the boil. The glossary explains exactly what a fumet is.

Sofrito and heat

The sofrito is short: seafood sealed and set aside, then garlic and grated onion browned, then paprika and tomato, without letting it burn. The monkfish goes in with the saffron, and the stock after that. The first 5 minutes of cooking are at full heat; in the last 3, the red prawns and the cigalas you set aside are placed on top. The result is a dry fideuà that is left to rest before serving.

The paella pan in the recipe is 47 centimetres in diameter for this quantity: the noodles must be able to spread well over the bottom.

What it doesn’t include

In the same Directo al Paladar article, the honorary president of the association explains that in Gandia they always use cigala and monkfish, and that the original recipe contains no molluscs such as clams or mussels. We have found no other source that says it that way, so we give it under his name. The Comunitat Valenciana and Diputació recipes go the same way: neither includes clams or mussels.

Typical mistakes

• Overcooked noodles. Going over the time takes away the bite. Count from the moment the noodles go in and taste at 10 minutes.
• Too little stock. If the stock isn’t enough, the noodles stay raw. Keep more hot stock to hand.
• Seafood at the start. Prawns and cigalas cooked the whole time come out dry. They go on top, at the end.
• No rest. The final 5 minutes are not a formality: the noodles finish soaking up the stock.

At the table

Allioli (garlic and oil sauce) divides opinion. Neither Comunitat Valenciana nor the Diputació mentions it in their recipe; the Turismo de Alicante guide lists it among the dishes it goes with, with fideuà first, and in Directo al Paladar the honorary president of the Gandia association rules it out so as not to mask the flavour. That is why it goes on the side, in a bowl, for whoever wants it (see the allioli page). The history of the dish and its difference from paella are in the glossary entry on fideuà. If you like fish rice dishes, also look at the arroz a banda, which shares the rockfish stock, the arroz del senyoret and the black rice (arroz negro).

Fideuà for a group

It is made in a paella pan, in front of everyone, and finished in minutes, which is why it is so often requested for celebrations. To work out quantities, there is the guide to how much rice per person, which also works for noodles. And if there are 40 or more of you, we cook rice for groups live: it is all in paella and show cooking.