Seafood cataplana recipe

This dish is traditionally cooked in hand-hammered copper cataplana dishes, available in specialist cookshops. Alternatively, use a regular cast-iron casserole dish or a Dutch oven with a well-fitting lid, and serve in wide bowls.

The Birdhouse’s original recipe involves some secret ingredients, so this is a simpler version where the flavour comes mainly from the chorizo. You could also add 1 tblsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp chilli flakes, a few threads saffron, 1 bay leaf, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, and a splash of white wine.

The seafood used at The Birdhouse is locally sourced and varies depending on availability. For home cooking, feel free to use what’s available locally, or even your catch of the day.

Cataplana Sauce

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 chorizo, thin slices
• 1 large tin crushed tomato
• Olive oil
  

Seafood

• 6 mussels
• 3 tiger prawns, peeled, deveined
• 4 to 5 pieces of calamari
• 4 little pieces of fish
• 1 blue swimmer crab, cut in half 
• 1 cup fish stock, hot
• Lemon wedges, to serve

To make the sauce, fry off the onion and chorizo in a pot with a little olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the tinned tomatoes (and herbs and wine if using), simmer for around 30 minutes.

Remove the bay leaf if used, then blend the sauce in a food processor.

Fry off all the seafood in a large pot with olive oil for around 30 seconds.

Add the cataplana sauce and fish stock, put a lid on the pot and let it steam and infuse for about 6 minutes on high heat. Serve with lemon wedges.