Pasta New Mexico~Fideo (Fee-Day-oh)

Fideo

(Fee-DAY-oh) is a Mexican spaghetti side dish.

I first had it in Phoenix but have had it at several Mexican restaurants here in New Mexico. You generally only find this in very traditional Mexican restaurants.

In fact, most of the Mexican food that we have here in the USA is the peasant food… beans ,rice, corn, meat, bread, as in…. pan de carne de maíz de arroz de frijoles. My view of Mexican food before I moved to the Southwest was very narrow. Now it is much wider and I am willing to try other things. In fact, the old staples of Mexican food, while good, are just not enough and often get boring!!!

It reminds me of a story from many years ago where a friend of mine sent her daughter as a foreign exchange student to Japan. Upon rising the first morning the young lady found a breakfast of hamburger and ice cream. The mother in the Japanese home wanted the young lady to feel at home. While it was actually gracious of the Mom in Japan, it was a strong clue to what she thought we ate at all times and for all meals.

Fideo, is a welcome addition to the standard side dishes or rice and beans.

So, okay, on to Fideo!

Ingredients:

2 T. veg. oil

A package of the small noodles….they sell them here in NM but you can use broken up angel hair pasta noodles (the package in the picture cost about 31-cents!!)

4-5 tomatoes chopped OR a can of Mexican seasoned tomatoes from the store (leave in the juice)

1 onion chopped

½ t. cumin

2 ½ t. chili powder

1 ½ cups of water OR a can of chicken stock I strongly recommend the chicken stock even if it comes from a granulated bouillon powder or cube.

Preparation:

Gently fry up the pasta noodles in the oil until they are brown (think like that brand that advertises it is a San Francisco treat…..)

Add the tomatoes and onion and cook until up to the pan temperature

Add the seasonings and chicken stock.

This cooks in a few minutes (about 15). The stock should be completely absorbed. Don’t let it go dry or burn. Stir it every-so-often.

Some people serve it with shredded cheese on top. I generally don’t.

It goes very well with most any meal as a side dish. Surprise your family with this tonight!