Fideus a la Cassola

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 30cm cazuela de barro, cassola, or heavy casserole with lid
• •Mortar and pestle
• •Box grater

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the meat

   Pat the pork ribs dry and season them with 5g of the salt and the black pepper. Warm the olive oil in a wide 30cm cassola or heavy casserole over medium heat, then brown the ribs on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the botifarra pieces and colour them lightly, 3 to 4 minutes more. Lift the meats to a plate and leave the oil in the pan.

   If you use a clay cassola de barro, heat it slowly and use a diffuser if your stove runs fierce. Clay does not like a sudden shock.
2. 2

   Build the sofregit

   Lower the heat and add the onion with 2g of the remaining salt. Cook it slowly, stirring often, until it turns dark gold, soft, and sweet, 15 to 18 minutes. Add the chopped garlic for one minute, then add the grated tomato and cook until its water is gone and the oil shows at the edge, another 15 to 20 minutes. This sofregit, the Catalan slow onion and tomato base, is the step that decides the dish. Rush it and the whole cassola tastes thin.

3. 3

   Braise the ribs

   If using the pimentón, pull the cassola off the hottest spot and stir it into the sofregit for ten seconds, just until it smells sweet. Pour in the vi ranci or white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Return the pork ribs, add the bay leaf and 500ml of the hot broth, cover loosely, and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, until the ribs are nearly tender.

   Keep the broth hot. Cold broth stops the cooking and makes the noodles take longer than they should.
4. 4

   Add the fideos

   Return the botifarra to the cassola. Add the fideos and pour in another 500ml of hot broth. Stir once to settle everything into an even layer, then simmer uncovered for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring gently now and then so the noodles cook evenly and the sauce gains body. This is not paella; the cassola wants a spoon. If using peas, add them for the last 5 minutes. The noodles should be tender and glossy, with broth still moving between them, not dry.

5. 5

   Finish with picada

   While the noodles cook, pound the toasted almonds or hazelnuts, small garlic clove, parsley, saffron, and a pinch of salt in a mortar until rough and pasty. Loosen with 2 tablespoons of cooking broth, then stir the picada into the cassola for the last 2 to 3 minutes. Taste before adding the last gram of salt; sausage and broth both speak loudly. Rest the cassola off the heat for 5 minutes before serving. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

Chef Tips

• •Botifarra crua is the right sausage here: fresh pork, mild seasoning, no smoke. If you cannot find it, use a plain fresh pork sausage. Do not use chorizo; it takes the dish somewhere else.
• •Use thick fideos, No. 4 or fideus gruixuts. If your shop only has short macaroni, use it, but expect a firmer bite and add a little extra hot broth as it cooks.
• •For the tomato, good canned crushed tomato is better than a hard winter tomato. Sofregit forgives canned tomato because you are cooking it down, not eating it raw.
• •The cassola should finish spoonable, not soupy and not dry. If the noodles drink too fast, add hot broth in 50ml splashes. If there is too much liquid, rest it five minutes and let the pasta settle before you panic.
• •A young Catalan red from Montsant or Terra Alta is right with the pork. Bread on the table is not decoration; you will want it for the last sauce.

Advance Preparation

• •The sofregit can be cooked up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated. Bring it back to a gentle sizzle before adding the wine and meat.
• •You can brown and braise the ribs through step 3 one day ahead. Add the botifarra, noodles, and picada only when you are ready to eat, or the pasta will swell and lose its bite.
• •Leftovers keep 2 days covered in the refrigerator. Reheat gently with a splash of water or light broth, knowing the noodles will be softer the next day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 550g)