Seafood fideuà

Method13 steps · about 1 hr

1. 1

   Step 1: Boil a kettle for the later saffron infusion. Put the live mussels (400 g) in a colander and rinse their shells under cold water, discarding this rinse water.

   Uses 400 g fresh live mussels in shells · Cold water to rinse live mussel shells, discarded

2. 2

   Step 2: Discard mussels with broken shells. Tap any open mussel gently; keep it only if it closes, and discard any that remain open.

   Uses All rinsed live mussels

3. 3

   Step 3: Remove barnacles and stringy beards from the screened mussels and rinse the shells clean. Cover with a cold damp cloth and refrigerate until cooking, keeping them out of standing water.

   Uses All screened live mussels · Cold water to rinse live mussel shells, discarded

4. 4

   Step 4: Peel only the body shells from the eight raw prawns, keeping their heads and tails intact. Score along the backs and remove the dark intestinal veins, then put the prepared prawns in a clean bowl.

   Uses 8 large raw shell-on prawns, heads and tails retained

5. 5

   Step 5: Cover the prepared raw prawns and refrigerate them until their later cooking stage. Keep them separate from the prepared mussels.

   Uses All eight prepared raw prawns

6. 6

   Step 6: Put all the saffron (2 good pinches) in a small cup, add only the separate fifty millilitres kettle-hot water and leave for ten minutes. Put the dry vermicelli in a bowl and break it into short pieces about one centimetre long; keep this broken dry pasta separate from the infusion.

   Infuse saffron in its measured hot water · 10 minUses 2 good pinches saffron · 50 ml kettle-hot water for saffron infusion · 350 g dry vermicelli pasta

7. 7

   Step 7: Peel and finely chop the large onion (1 large). Heat all five tablespoons olive oil in a large deep frying pan with at least a three-centimetre lip, or a forty-centimetre paella pan. Cook the prepared onion for five minutes until soft.

   Soften chopped onion · 5 minUses 5 tbsp olive oil · 1 large onion, finely chopped

8. 8

   Step 8: Peel and crush all three garlic cloves, add them to the onion pan and cook for one minute. Add all the broken dry vermicelli and toast for another five minutes, stirring from time to time until browned. Stir in all two teaspoons smoked paprika.

   Garlic 1 minute, then toast pasta 5 minutes · 6 minUses All softened onion and its pan oil · All broken dry vermicelli, not the saffron infusion · 3 garlic cloves, crushed · 2 tsp smoked paprika

9. 9

   Step 9: Use the filleted, deboned monkfish tail (1) flesh cut into two-to-three-centimetre chunks, and cleaned baby squid (4) cut into rings with tentacles kept. Stir all this raw fish and squid into the toasted pasta base with all the saffron and its infusion water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread evenly, pour over the hot fish stock (650 ml) and scatter both chopped tomatoes (2 large) on top.

   Uses The complete toasted pasta base · All saffron with its full 50 ml infusion water · 1 monkfish tail, filleted and deboned, flesh cut into 2–3 cm chunks · 4 baby squid (about 400 g total), cleaned, tubes cut into rings and tentacles kept · 650 ml hot prepared fish stock · 2 large tomatoes, chopped into small pieces · Salt for seafood-pasta seasoning, to taste · Ground black pepper for seafood-pasta seasoning, to taste

10. 10

    Step 10: Bring to a simmer, cover tightly with a lid or foil and cook over medium heat for six minutes.

    First covered fish-and-pasta simmer · 6 minUses The complete assembled pan

11. 11

    Step 11: Uncover and stir the partly cooked pasta so the dry top layer mixes into the liquid. Push all the prepared live mussels into the pasta with their hinges buried at the bottom and shells standing upright.

    Uses All partly cooked pasta and seafood · All prepared live mussels

12. 12

    Step 12: Arrange all eight prepared prawns on top, cover tightly and cook for another six minutes, continuing as needed until mussels open, prawns are pink and opaque, fish and squid are cooked through and the pasta is tender. Check the thickest fish or prawn reaches 63 °C /145 °F. Discard mussels that remain closed after cooking. Uncover and simmer for another two to three minutes to reduce most of the remaining liquid, leaving a little so the pasta does not stick together.

    Cook the covered seafood for six minutes · 6 minUses The complete pan with mussels · All eight prepared chilled raw prawns

13. 13

    Step 13: Take the pan off the heat and let it sit for two to three minutes. Squeeze over the juice from the measured large lemon. Cut the separate additional lemon (1) into wedges and arrange them over the pasta. Wash and chop the parsley (1 small bunch), scatter it over and serve the complete batch as six portions.

    Off-heat rest before lemon and parsley finish · 3 minUses The complete cooked seafood pasta · Juice of 1 large lemon · 1 small bunch parsley, chopped · 1 additional lemon, cut into serving wedges