Fideo Del Mar Recipe

Toast and cook fideo

In a large skillet over medium heat, add 2 tbs olive oil and 1 tbs butter. Add the fideo pasta and toast, stirring constantly, until golden brown (3–5 minutes). Add 2 cups chicken or seafood stock, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until pasta is tender (6–8 minutes). Keep warm and set aside.

Season seafood

Pat shrimp and scallops dry. In a bowl, toss shrimp, scallops and crab claws with 1 tbs olive oil, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 tbs lime juice, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp salt. Let rest 5 minutes.

Sear scallops and shrimp

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add a small drizzle of oil. Sear scallops 1–2 minutes per side until golden; remove and keep warm. Add shrimp and cook 1–2 minutes per side until opaque; remove. Warm the pre-cooked snow crab claws in the pan for 1–2 minutes just to heat through and pick up flavor. Reserve all seafood on a warm plate.

Prepare chiles and tomato

For Ranchero sauce: roast 1 ranchero (or roma) chile and 1 tomato under a broiler or over a gas flame until charred all over, then place in a bowl covered with plastic for 5 minutes. Peel and seed the chile and tomato. For the Pasilla variation: roast 1 pasilla chile (or rehydrate dried pasilla and saute briefly) and the tomato the same way. Either option yields a smoky base.

Make sauce base

In a blender, combine the roasted chile (ranchero or pasilla), roasted tomato, 1/4 cup diced white onion, 1 minced garlic clove and 1/2 cup stock. Blend until smooth.

Finish cream sauce

In a saucepan over medium heat, warm 1 tbs olive oil. Pour the blended chile-tomato mixture into the pan and simmer 3–4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in 1 cup heavy cream and 1/4 cup crema (or sour cream). Simmer gently, do not boil, for 3–5 minutes until thickened slightly. Season with 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. If sauce is too thick, add up to 2 tbs stock to reach desired consistency.

Taste and adjust

Taste for seasoning and chile heat. For a smokier, earthier pasilla sauce choose the pasilla option; for brighter tomato-chile flavor choose the ranchero option.

Combine pasta and sauce

Return the cooked fideo to a wide skillet or saucepan over low heat. Add 1 tbs butter (optional) and pour the cream ranchero or pasilla sauce over the pasta. Stir gently to coat, warming 1–2 minutes.

Add seafood

Nestle the seared scallops, shrimp and warmed snow crab claws into the sauced pasta. Spoon sauce over the seafood and simmer together 1–2 minutes to marry flavors. Do not overcook; shrimp and scallops should remain tender.

Plate and garnish

Divide among 4 warm plates (servings noted below). Garnish with chopped cilantro, chopped green onion, crumbled queso fresco or cotija and lime wedges. Serve immediately.