Mimi's FideuÀ

Super quick, super easy… Mimi’s Fideuà

Like ALL Spanish rice dishes, the secret to cooking Fideuà is to make sure you have a killer shellfish stock to hand. So, take the time to make the best sea food stock you can because it will reward you with tasty dividends. This recipe is my daughter’s favourite dinner; make it, and let me know what you think..

Serves 4 I’d say:

Squid or cuttlefish

2 cleaned, 500g total weight cut into pieces

Olive oil

Sofrito:

1 chopped garlic clove

1 large serving spoon of caramelised onions

1 tsp pimentón, dulce (sweet Spanish smoky paprika)

Pinch saffron

200g chopped tomato (fresh but skinned or use good quality tinned)

Crunchy salt

Olive oil

Stock:

1L of the best fish stock you can buy or have made yourself.

400g fideos noodles No.4

Serve the noodles with some grilled garlic prawns, or a platter of mussels on the side depending on the season.

Lemon to squeeze over the lot.

First thing, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan or paella dish (28cm) and cook the squid in batches until it just starts to curl, remove from the pan.

Add another lug of oil to the empty pan, followed by the chopped garlic and cook for a minute until the garlic starts to give off its aroma. Add a good serving spoonful of caramelised onions (I always have a jar in the fridge, ready to use) and stir. Now is the time to add a heaped teaspoonful of sweet smoked Spanish paprika and a pinch of saffron. Give everything a stir, season with crunchy salt then rain in the bet stock you’ve ever made followed by the noodles.

Cook the fideuà on a low to medium heat for about 15minutes or until the stock has been absorbed and the noodles are soft to the bite. Last of all, lay the squid on top, squeeze over fresh lemon, season with a flicker of crunchy salt and a drizzle of your best olive oil.

Have a bowl of garlicky alioli to hand, too. You’ll enjoy it.