Pasta

Today we bring you an adaptation of the fideuá from Spain’s eastern coast, which is mainly made with fish and seafood. Everyone knows my dislike for fish, so when my mom made this dish, swapping the fish for pork secreto, I jumped right on it.

What do we need?

• 200 g (7 oz) pork secreto

• 200 g (7 oz) fideuá pasta

• Water

• Mushrooms

• Saffron

• Salt

• Olive oil

• Paprika

• Garlic

• Parmesan cheese

How do we make it?

• Pour a splash of olive oil into a large pot, sauté the garlic, add the meat and mushrooms with a pinch of salt, and cook everything together. Add a bit of paprika.

• Once it’s nicely sautéed, toss in the noodles and stir everything together so they pick up the flavor.

• Add twice as much water as pasta (or a bit more if you want it slightly brothy).

• Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes, adding a pinch of saffron and a little more paprika along the way.

• When plating, shave a few slices of parmesan cheese and lay them on top.

Tips:

• We used shiitake mushrooms, but it turns out great with any kind of mushroom.

• If you don’t have pork secreto, you can use any tender cut of pork.

• The original recipe calls for ñoras (dried sweet red peppers), which are crushed and added to the sofrito. If you can find them (and don’t get scared off by the price), they give the dish a special touch.

*[English version] FIDEUÁ ** *Ingredients:

• 200 g (7 oz) pork meat

• 200 g (7 oz) fideuá pasta

• Water

• Mushrooms

• Saffron

• Salt

• Olive oil

• Paprika

• Garlic

• Parmesan cheese

• Gently fry the chopped garlic with a bit of olive oil in a cooking pot. Add meat and mushrooms, some salt, and cook. Add paprika.

• When it is slightly cooked, add the pasta and gently fry all the ingredients together to mix the flavors.

• Add the water (twice the amount of pasta. For instance, if you used 2 cups of pasta, add 4 cups of water. You can add a bit of extra water if you like a soupy dish.)

• Add some saffron and a bit more paprika and cook for around 15-20 minutes.

• Slice parmesan cheese and place it over the fideuá before serving.

Tips:

- We used shiitake mushrooms, but any kind of mushroom will be delicious.

- The original recipe uses ‘ñora’ (dried red spicy pepper). You can use it if you like spicy flavors. Add it when slightly frying all the ingredients (step 1).

Comments

la enana (2013-03-04 13:40:11):

The recipe was delicious! I made it the other day and we loved it! I used paprika instead of pimentón because I haven’t been able to find it around here, and although the result was very good, in my opinion the flavor pimentón gives is even better.

Whole Kitchen in their Savory Proposal for the month of September invites us to make an Italian classic: “Stuffed Pasta.” With this recipe we kick off a new adventure on this amazing food blog, where every month we’re challenged to make a savory dish and a sweet one. We love the idea — it’s original and pretty useful, since it pushes you to make dishes you might not normally tackle, and it also lets you check out what the other participants come up with.

What do we need?

(Serves 4)

• For the dough:

•   300 g (2.5 cups) flour
  

•   1 egg and 1 egg white
  

•   2 tbsp olive oil
  

•   1/2 tsp salt
  

•   1 tsp vinegar
  

• For the filling:

•   2 small onions, finely chopped
  

•   1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  

•   300 g (10.5 oz) mushrooms
  

•   2 tbsp parsley
  

•   Salt
  

•   40 g (1.5 oz) aged cheese
  

• For the sauce:

•   200 ml (3/4 cup + 1 tbsp) heavy cream
  

•   4 slices of bacon (thick-cut)
  

•   Salt and pepper
  

How do we do it?

• Put the flour in a bowl, make a well in the center, and add the egg, the egg white, the salt, the oil, and the vinegar.

• Knead until you get an elastic dough, adding a splash of water if needed.

• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge for at least an hour.

• Heat a little oil in a large pan, add the onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook gently over low heat until all the liquid has evaporated.

• Stir in the parsley and season. Add the finely chopped aged cheese and mix well (with the heat off). Let it cool.

• Once the dough has rested, divide it in two and roll out one half with a rolling pin until very thin. Ideally you’d use a pasta machine, but not everyone has one at home, so a rolling pin will do the trick.

• Place small mounds of filling on the pasta sheet, leaving space between them.

• Roll out the second half of the dough very thin and lay it over the first one. With your hands, press around the mounds to shape the ravioli.

• Finally, cut out the ravioli with a round cutter (like a pizza cutter) with fluted edges. Set the ravioli aside while you prepare the sauce.

• If instead of ravioli you’d rather make tortellini, roll out the dough very thin, fill it, and fold as shown in this [video](

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).

• For the sauce, use the leftover filling. Sauté the bacon cut into small cubes, add the leftover filling and the cream, and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes and adjust salt and pepper to taste.

• Cook the pasta, drain it, add the sauce, and… buon appetito!

Tips:

• The dough has to be very thin. If you’re using a rolling pin, that means once you think it’s thin enough, roll it out at least three more times. I also recommend making your ravioli or tortellini small, since they’ll grow when cooked.
• If you don’t have a pasta cutter, you can use a regular knife, but make sure to seal the edges well afterward or you’ll lose the filling during cooking. You can seal them with your fingers, a fork, or the edge of a serrated knife.
• Our pasta took quite a while to cook (15 minutes) because the pieces were too big and chunky.