Spring Vegetable Fideos

I think of fideos as a bit of a hybrid between pasta and paella. It’s the kind of dish you can customize easily. If you can’t find fideos noodles, buy vermicelli. I buy the bags of nested dry vermicelli and then crush the nests with my hands.

Serves 4

3 TBSP olive oil

8 oz uncooked sausage links (pork, chicken, rabbit or duck)

4 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered

1 yellow or white onion, finely chopped

2 tsp kosher salt

4 oil-packed anchovy fillets (optional, but you should do it)

8 oz fideo or vermicelli noodles, broken into 2-inch pieces

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 TBSP finely chopped or pureed preserved lemon (see note)

1/2 pound pencil-thin asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 cup chopped spinach

1 cup peas, thawed if frozen

1/2 cup chopped radicchio

1/2 cup chopped parsley

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, then add sausage and cook until it is browned on all sides, about 8-10 minutes. Remove the sausage from pan, cut into pieces and set aside. Add the mushrooms, onions, and salt to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, over medium heat until the mushrooms are soft and the onions are translucent, about 3-4 minutes.  

Push the onions and mushrooms to the edges of the pan with a spoon and add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the center. Add the anchovies and garlic to the center of the pan and cook, stirring and smashing the anchovies into pieces with your spoon, until the garlic is fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Mix the garlic and anchovies with the onions and garlic. Push the vegetables back to the sides of the pan, then add the remaining tablespoon olive oil to the center of the pan. Add the fideos to the center of the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until they are toasted golden brown, about 3 minutes.  

Add the stock and preserved lemon paste to the pan, then stir in the reserved sausage, spinach, asparagus, peas and radicchio. Reduce the heat and simmer until the noodles absorb the stock, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until stock is absorbed. Add a little more water if the fideos are still undercooked. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Note: Use fresh lemon if you don’t have preserved.