fideuà

Fideuà (dialectal pronunciation of the Valencian word fideuada "large amount of noodles" from Hisp. Ar. fidáwš) is a seafood dish originally from the coast of Valencia that is similar to paella, and even more so to arròs a banda, but with pasta noodles instead of rice. Its main ingredients are pasta noodles (often hollow), fish (rockfish, monkfish, cuttlefish, squid), and shellfish (Squilla mantis, shrimp, crayfish). It is seasoned mainly with lemon.

== History == The invention of fideuà is attributed to a picturesque story. Gabriel Rodríguez Pastor, (Gabrielo from a kiosk in the port district of Grau in Gandia), worked as a cook on a boat and Juan Bautista Pascual (Zábalo), was the youngest man on the boat and his assistant. According to Gabriel's family, the boat captain loved rice and the rest of sailors almost never received their full portion of arròs a banda, the dish that the cook usually prepared. Trying to find a solution for the problem, the cook had the idea of using noodles instead of rice to see if the result was a little less appetizing for the captain.