Cataplana de Marisco

Cataplana is a Portuguese seafood dish originating in the southern region of Portugal in Algarve, and it is about as traditional a Portuguese dish as you can get. It uses a copper cooking device also called a Cataplana which unique to the Algarve region. This dish we are going to make is a combination of different delicious seafoods like prawns, littleneck clams, and chourico sausage. Cataplana is perfect for making this dish because it efficiently contains the flavor and heat of the contents in the dish to provide a uniquely flavored and scented dish, simply without any fuss.

*Serves 5-6*
Ingredients:
3 onions thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves chopped
1 cup olive oil
1 bay leaf
1 lb freshly chopped tomatoes (you can use canned tomatoes as well)
1/4 lb chourico
1/2 cup white wine
2 lbs. littleneck clams in the shell, rinsed.
1 pound prawns
2 tablespoon chopped parsley
2 teaspoons paprika
1 loaf of bread sliced for dipping
1 cataplana (If you can’t find one of these locally, you can get one here on Amazon)

Ingredients:
1) In the cataplana, cook the onions, garlic, in the olive oil until the onions have browned a bit.
2) Pour in the tomatoes and the bay leaf. Cover the cataplana and lower the heat so it simmers for about 30 minutes.
3) Now add in the chourico. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes. Season with paprika or chili pepper
4) Now finally, lay the clams and prawns on top. Add the wine, and cook for 15 minutes over a gentle heat, while the lid is covered. Once done, add the parsley to decorate.
5) Pour into plates and serve with some bread from dipping.

4 Comments

  1. Gerald Coard

    THANKYOU FOR THE WONDERFUL PORTUGUESE RECIPES. CAN YOU HELP ME FIND AND BUY A COPPER CATAPLANA.I LIVE CLOSE TO NICE,FRANCE OR MAYBE YOU COULD RECOMMEND AN INTERNET SITE WHERE I COULD BUY ONE.
    THANKS GERALD COARD

  2. Malcolm Lauder

    Hi Gerald
    Some years ago I bought a copper cataplana at a shop in Albufeira. It is so beautiful that it has remained unused as a purely decorative object in my kitchen. We moved house last December and had our kitchen redesigned. Although I have always used a gas hob, I was persuaded that an induction hob was the way to go. This, of course, meant that my cataplana would never, ever, be used as a cooking implement. Earlier this week my wife and I had a four-day break in a resort just outside Albufeira. We went into the town a couple of times and I promised Susan that I wouldn’t ask to buy another cataplana. Quite by chance on the second visit we came across the street where I had bought the original pan and found the shop. They were just closing but we decided that we would just wander in and see what was what. To my utter surprise, among the copper cataplanas was a stainless-steel version. Even better was that it was suitable for an induction hob. I just had to have it so that I can, at last, make a proper cataplana. The shop is called Casa Raminhos and is to be found at Rua 5 de Octubro, 64, Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal, telephone (351) 289 514478. They are also online. Bon chance!

  3. Andrew

    Thanks for the recipe. Because I don’t eat meat, I left out the chorizo stage and added squid and white fish. I made it in a big wok. The whole family loved it. Muito be.

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