Seafood Fideuá (GF)

SEAFOOD FIDEUA (GF)

(Minimum price of two portions)

Allergy Information: Contains crustaceans, molluscs.

Fideuá (dialectal pronunciation of the Valencian word fideuada “large amount of noodles”) is a dish originally from the coast of Valencia like paella, but with noodles instead of rice. The best garnish is a little alioli that should be mixed into the dish, although you can use lemon instead, if that’s your preference. A fruity wine is a good accompaniment.

ORIGIIN/HISTORY

There exists an interesting tale behind the creation of this relative of paella, who knows whether it is true or not. Fideuá was originally created in 1915 by fisherman Joan Batiste Pascual who was from Gandia, Valencia.

Pascual called his creation “the daughter of the sea” as the dish was born aboard a fishing boat due to one greedy sailor. Pascual was a cook aboard this fishing boat and regularly served dishes of paella to the sailors, the skipper of the boat however, loved the paella rice so much that he would often eat more than his fair share, leaving the other sailors with less than their full ration of food. In an attempt to stop the skipper being so greedy, Pascual changed the rice to pasta and thus the fideuá was born.

Apparently though, this tactic did not work and the skipper continued to selfishly eat more than his fair share, which is understandable though, because this is a truly delicious dish which you must try. Word of this magical dish spread throughout the town of Gandia and later Valencia and it is now considered a traditional dish of the province.