Fideo Seco: Toasted Pasta with Poblano, Serrano and Potatoes Simmered in Chicken Stock from Mi Cocina by Rick Martinez
“I adore fideo seco—toasted bits of pasta simmered with a rich chicken broth until the pasta absorbs every last drop of liquid. Growing up, it was always served as a side dish. When I got to Monterrey I saw it in a taco! I couldn’t believe that I had eaten it for so many years of my life and never put it inside of a tortilla. So of course I had to try it. And yes, it was amazing carb on delicious carb. While it was delicious, in all honesty, my favorite way to eat fideo seco is straight out of the pan. In fact, when I was in college, I would make huge batches for me and my , I would make huge batches for me and my roommate. It was cheap and easy and the perfect meal to make after a night out drinking. Between the two of us, we’d devour a whole skillet! Now I skip the bar and go straight to the skillet. Feel free to stuff it into a tortilla if you are needing a little carb pick-me-up!” — Rick Martinez
I adore fideo seco—toasted bits of pasta simmered with a rich chicken broth until the pasta absorbs every last drop of liquid. Growing up, it was always served as a side dish. When I got to Monterrey I saw it in a taco! I couldn’t believe that I had eaten it for so many years of my life and never put it inside of a tortilla. So of course I had to try it. And yes, it was amazing carb on delicious carb. While it was delicious, in all honesty, my favorite way to eat fideo seco is straight out of the pan. In fact, when I was in college, I would make huge batches for me and my , I would make huge batches for me and my roommate. It was cheap and easy and the perfect meal to make after a night out drinking. Between the two of us, we’d devour a whole skillet! Now I skip the bar and go straight to the skillet. Feel free to stuff it into a tortilla if you are needing a little carb pick-me-up! — Rick Martinez
Fideo Seco: Toasted Pasta with Poblano, Serrano and Potatoes Simmered in Chicken Stock
SERVES 4
Ingredients
- 8 ounces (226 g) fideo, vermicelli, or angel hair pasta, broken into 2-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons rendered lard or extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 large tomatoes (8 oz/226 g), cored and chopped
- ½ medium white onion (5.43 oz/ 154 g), chopped
- 1 medium chile poblano (4 oz/ 125 g), stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 1 chile serrano (0.85 oz/24.3 g), stemmed and thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 2½ cups homemade chicken stock or store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 large Yukon Gold potato
- (8.25 oz/234 g), peeled and chopped
- 2 teaspoons Morton kosher salt (0.56 oz/16 g)
- Warm Tortillas de Harina estilo Sinaloa, p. 47, or any tortilla, preferably thicker than usual
- Sliced avocado
- Cilantro leaves and tender stems
- Salsa Tatemada, p. 58, or any salsa, preferably with charred tomato
Directions
Step 1
Heat a large skillet over high heat for 2 minutes. Add the fideo and toast, tossing constantly, or until most of the fideo has browned, for 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl.
Step 2
Reduce the heat to medium-high. In the same skillet, heat the lard. Add the tomatoes, onion, chile poblano, chile serrano, and garlic and cook, tossing occasionally, until the onions and chile poblano are tender and just beginning to brown, for 6 to 8 minutes.
Step 3
Add the stock, potato, salt, and toasted fideo and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until all of the liquid has been absorbed, for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, still covered, for 5 minutes.
Step 4
Make tacos with the fideo and topped with the avocado slices, cilantro, and salsa. Or, eat the fideo straight from the pan.
Reprinted from Mi Cocina: Recipes and Rapture from my Kitchen in Mexico: A Cookbook by Rick Martinez, copyright 2022 by Rick Martinez. Used by permission of Clarkson Potter/Publishers, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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