The dish to eat in Algarve · Portugal

Cataplana de marisco

Name: Cataplana de marisco (Algarve seafood cataplana)
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Portugal
Ingredients: 2 lb (900 g) small clams (amêijoas or littlenecks); 1 lb (450 g) large shell-on prawns; 1 lb (450 g) firm white fish (monkfish, hake or sea bass), in 2-inch (5 cm) pieces; 4 oz (115 g) Portuguese chouriço or Spanish chorizo, sliced; 1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil; 2 onions, thinly sliced; 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, sliced; 4 garlic cloves, sliced; 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or a 14 oz/400 g can); 1 bay leaf; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1/2 tsp piri-piri flakes or chili flakes; 3/4 cup (180 ml) dry white wine; 1 cup (40 g) chopped cilantro or parsley; Salt and pepper; Crusty bread, to serve

Photo: Satdeep Gill, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons · source

Clams, prawns and fish steamed with chorizo, tomato, peppers and white wine in a sealed copper pan.

The cataplana is a clamshell-shaped copper pan from the Algarve, a kind of stovetop pressure cooker. It arrives at the table closed and is opened in front of you in a cloud of steam.

Where to eat it Cook it at home

Where to eat it: the best three in Algarve

Taberna Zé-Zé
Faro
Order: Cataplana de marisco for two
A Faro tavern known for its seafood cataplana.
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Chefe Branco
Faro
Order: Seafood cataplana, then grilled fish
A Faro favorite for traditional Algarve seafood.
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Tasca do Ricky
Faro
Order: Cataplana and whatever the fish of the day is
A small, casual tasca in Faro with very fresh seafood.
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All three are on Chef Amazing’s list The best cataplana de marisco in the Algarve, which you can save and take with you.

Cook it at home: Cataplana de marisco (Algarve seafood cataplana)

Serves 4Time 1 hr

A base of onion, peppers, tomato and chorizo, then clams, firm fish and prawns layered on top and steamed shut with white wine. No cataplana? A Dutch oven with a tight lid does the same job.

Pans and tools

Cataplana or a Dutch oven with a tight lid
Large bowl for soaking clams

You’ll need

2 lb (900 g) small clams (amêijoas or littlenecks)
1 lb (450 g) large shell-on prawns
1 lb (450 g) firm white fish (monkfish, hake or sea bass), in 2-inch (5 cm) pieces
4 oz (115 g) Portuguese chouriço or Spanish chorizo, sliced
1/4 cup (60 ml) olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
1 red and 1 green bell pepper, sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (or a 14 oz/400 g can)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp piri-piri flakes or chili flakes
3/4 cup (180 ml) dry white wine
1 cup (40 g) chopped cilantro or parsley
Salt and pepper
Crusty bread, to serve

Steps

Soak the clams in salted cold water for 1 hour so they spit out sand, then scrub. Throw away any that stay open when tapped.
Season the fish with salt and leave it while you make the base.
Heat the oil in the cataplana or Dutch oven over medium. Fry the chouriço 2 minutes, then add the onions, peppers and garlic and cook 10 minutes until soft.
Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, paprika and piri-piri and cook 10 minutes more into a thick sauce. Season.
Lay the fish on top, then the clams, then the prawns. Pour in the wine and scatter half the cilantro.
Close the cataplana (or cover the pot tightly) and cook over medium-high 10 to 12 minutes, shaking now and then, until the clams have all opened.
Bring the closed pan to the table, open it, scatter the rest of the cilantro and serve with bread for the juices.

Chef’s tips

Don't stir once the seafood is in; just shake the pan.

Discard any clams that don't open.

A cold Algarve white or a vinho verde is the drink.

Contains: Shellfish (molluscs and crustaceans), fish; may contain sulphites (wine).

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