Fideua of Gandia

The story told in Gandia is specific: in the 1930s a cook on a fishing boat, Gabriel Rodriguez Pastor, found the skipper ate more than his share of the rice, so he substituted short hollow noodles hoping it would be less appealing; the crew preferred it. Whether or not that is exact, fideua established itself as a Gandia dish and spread along the coast. It is made like a seafood paella, in the same wide shallow pan over a broad heat source, with a stock of rockfish, cuttlefish, monkfish and prawns, saffron and paprika, and short fideos that are sometimes toasted first and which stand on end as they absorb the stock. It is served with allioli, which is the point of argument for purists.

What you actually see

• The noodle version - short fideos in place of rice in a paella pan.
• The standing noodles - pasta rising on end as it absorbs the stock.
• The seafood stock - rockfish, cuttlefish and prawns as the base.
• The allioli - garlic emulsion served alongside, or not, depending who you ask.

When to go

Year-round; it is a lunch dish rather than an evening one in Valencian practice, and restaurants often require it to be ordered for two or more people with some notice.

Honest expectations

Like paella, it is usually made for a minimum of two and takes thirty to forty minutes to cook, so it is not fast food. Tourist restaurants along the coast serve poor versions from pre-made stock. Gandia's beach strip is heavily developed.

Nearby

Gandia's beach and ducal palace are in the town; Valencia lies seventy kilometres north.