Fideuá (pronounced “fee-day-WA”) is a festive, flavor-packed dish that’s long been part of Sephardic Jewish tradition throughout the Mediterranean—though many Americans have never heard of it. Essentially, it’s paella made with pasta instead of rice. Fideuá is typically made with fideos (short, thin noodles) and, like paella, it’s great for entertaining family and friends. Though clearly a noodle dish, it’s unlike any pasta I’ve had in Italy—or anywhere else.
Helene Jawhara Piñer’s excellent new book Matzah and Flour taught me that fideuá was often served in Sephardic communities for Shavuot, which starts this year in two weeks, from the evening of June 1 until dark on June 3. The dish has deep roots: Jewish merchants and cooks were producing and trading fideos around the Mediterranean as far back as the 14th century.
To make this dish, I start by soaking a dozen or so threads of saffron in a small bowl of hot (not boiling) water the night before—saffron takes time to release its flavor into the liquid.
Coarsely chop a can of really good plum tomatoes (the ones we get—Bianco DiNapoli, Miragallo, and Gentile—are all great). Peel and bruise a clove of garlic (if you want more garlic flavor, you can gently slice it). Finely chop a small onion and a couple of fresh red peppers.
Heat the tomatoes in a saucepan. At the same time, heat a good amount of extra virgin olive oil separately, in a deep skillet. We use the Moulins Mahjoub oil from Tunisia at our house. Add the garlic, onion, and pepper to the skillet and stir gently. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. Cook until the vegetables are soft—be careful not to let them burn.
Break spaghettini or other thin pasta into 1- to 2-inch-long pieces. Add the pasta to the skillet with the olive oil and vegetables and stir gently. You want it to turn lightly golden brown as it cooks. At that point, add a couple ladles of the tomato, the saffron with its soaking liquid, some Marash red pepper flakes (or another high-quality red pepper for spice), and a bit more sea salt to the skillet with the pasta. It should sizzle a bit. Stir well—then stop stirring!
Add more tomato once the first bit has been absorbed. After five or six minutes, gently take a piece of pasta out with a fork to test for doneness. If it’s not ready, add more tomato and/or hot water and keep cooking—without stirring—until the noodles are al dente. Don’t overcook.
Jawhara Piner prefers the dish with a bit of broth left in the dish when it’s done; I was taught in Spain to go for a drier texture—the noodles have to almost “stand up,” is how one friend framed it. Either way is equally tasty, so I’ll let you decide for yourself!
When the pasta is almost done, add some high-quality tuna to the pan, broken into pieces. I’m hooked on the Ortiz Yellowfin, but their Bonito (which is milder than the Yellowfin) is also great. Add some torn fresh mint. When the pasta is al dente, let everything sit in the skillet for a few minutes to settle. Then spoon the fideuá onto warm plates. Drizzle a bit of good olive oil over the top.
Serve with mayonnaise on the side. Put some lemon wedges and a pepper mill on the table so each guest can season to their taste.
