Aletría Murciana

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy pot or cazuela, 28cm
• •Box grater for tomatoes
• •Mortar and pestle for the majado

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the ñoras

   Put the dried ñoras in a bowl and cover them with hot water for 20 minutes. When soft, split them open, scrape out the red flesh with the back of a knife, and discard the skins and seeds. Pound that flesh with the whole garlic clove and the parsley to make a small majado, a pounded seasoning. Keep it beside the stove.

   If your ñoras are very dry and stubborn, soak them longer. Don't use the tough skin in the stew; it stays papery.
2. 2

   Brown the ribs

   Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat. Salt the costillejas with about half the salt, add them to the pot, and brown them patiently on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. You want golden edges and a little pork fat in the oil, not scorched black bits. Lift the ribs to a plate.

3. 3

   Cook the sofrito

   Lower the heat and add the onion, green pepper, and sliced garlic to the same oil. Cook slowly for 15 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is dark gold and soft. Add the grated tomato and cook another 12 to 15 minutes, until the water has gone and the oil shows red at the edges. This is the step that decides the stew: the sofrito, the slow base, must turn sweet before the broth goes in.

4. 4

   Add spice and broth

   Stir in the pimentón for only a few seconds, off the strongest heat, so it smells warm but does not burn. Return the ribs to the pot with the bay leaf, saffron, the remaining salt, and 1.4 litres hot water or light stock. Scrape the base of the pot, bring it to a gentle boil, then lower to a steady simmer for 30 minutes.

5. 5

   Cook the potatoes

   Add the cracked potatoes and the ñora, garlic, and parsley majado. Simmer 15 to 18 minutes, until the potatoes are just tender at the edges but not falling apart. Taste the broth now; it should be a little more seasoned than a soup, because the fideos will drink it.

6. 6

   Finish the fideos

   Add the fine fideos and stir once to spread them through the pot. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, depending on their thickness, until tender but not swollen. Keep the stew loose and spoonable; add a splash of hot water if the noodles take more broth than expected. Turn off the heat and rest 3 minutes, no longer.

7. 7

   Serve at once

   Serve the aletría in deep bowls with ribs, potato, and noodles in each one, the broth golden-red and glossy from the sofrito. This is a pot that should arrive hot and generous, not tidy. Fideos wait for nobody, so call people before you finish them.

Chef Tips

• •Use fine fideos, number 0 or 1 if the packet gives sizes. Broken vermicelli works well far from Spain, but it cooks fast, so start checking after 4 minutes.
• •Ask for pork spare ribs cut small, costillejas. If you only find larger ribs, cut between the bones and simmer them 10 minutes longer before adding the potatoes.
• •Ñora is the Murcian pepper to look for. If you cannot find it, use one small dried sweet red pepper plus 1 teaspoon sweet pimentón. The colour will be right, though the flavour will be less deep and fruity.
• •Do not make this ahead with the noodles already in the pot. They keep drinking until the stew turns thick and dull. Make the rib, potato, and sofrito base ahead, then add fideos when you are ready to eat.
• •The broth should be spoonable, not dry. This is aletría murciana, not fideuà, and not every noodle dish wants to stand up in the pan.

Advance Preparation

• •The ñoras can be soaked and scraped up to a day ahead; keep the flesh covered in the refrigerator.
• •The stew can be prepared through the potato step up to 24 hours ahead. Reheat gently, add hot water if needed, then cook the fideos just before serving.
• •Leftovers keep one day, but the noodles will thicken the broth. Reheat with a little water and accept that the texture will be softer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 650g)