Mention the cooking of Valencia, and rice dishes, particularly paella, come to mind. However, these are not the only recipes from Valencia…

It is said that fideuà was born in Gandia or Denia, when the distracted cook on a fishing trawler that was already out at sea suddenly realized that he had forgotten to bring along rice and had only noodles. The sofrito was ready, the fish and seafood were done and the fish broth was steaming. He decided to make a paella with what he had at hand. The result was a great success and fideuà became another national dish.

Making the broth

1. Cook the onion in the hot oil until lightly browned.
2. Sauté the fish bones, heads and shrimp shells; add the water and salt, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Strain.

Fideuà

1. Clean and cut up the fishes and season them, along with the shrimp.
2. Heat the oil in a paella pan and fry the fish quickly, then set aside.
3. In the remaining oil, fry the garlic cloves, transfer them to a mortar, and fry the peeled chopped tomato;
4. add the chili (pimenton) and sauté the vermicelli in the mixture.
5. Add the broth and correct the seasoning.
6. When the broth comes to a boil, cook the vermicelli for 10 minutes, add the fish and garlic crushed with the parsley in the mortar and cook 5-7 minutes longer. Serve hot.