Portuguese seafood stew

Some days the craving for home arrives with tides and salt attached. Growing up, my mother and grandmother’s seafood stew was the dish of special Sundays — mussels, shrimp and firm white fish simmered over layered potatoes in a broth of tomato, wine, olive oil and cilantro.

Recreating it in the US took me more attempts than I care to admit (there were disasters), but this version finally tastes like my mother’s kitchen. The method is pure caldeirada logic: everything layered raw in a wide pot, no stirring, letting the heat and time build the broth.

Find the freshest seafood you can — that is nine-tenths of this dish — and serve it with bread for the broth. Non-negotiable.

Portuguese Seafood Stew Recipe

Prep time: 30 minutes · Cook time: 20 minutes · Total: 50 minutes · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~414 per serving

Ingredients

• 10 oz mussels
• 8 large shrimp
• 5 monkfish fillets
• 1 pound potatoes, sliced
• 7 oz canned diced tomatoes
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 cups water
• ¾ cup olive oil
• ½ cup white wine
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• Bird’s eye chili, to taste
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Season the seafood and fish with salt and set aside.
2. Prep the vegetables: slice the onion, chop the garlic, slice the potatoes, cut the pepper into strips.
3. In a wide pot, layer the onion, garlic, diced tomatoes, pepper, bay leaf and potatoes.
4. Pour in the wine, olive oil and water; add the paprika and chili, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Arrange the seafood, fish and cherry tomatoes on top, cover, and bring to a boil.
6. Let it boil briefly without stirring, then cook about 10 minutes over low heat.
7. Check the seafood, then cover again and cook until the potatoes are tender.
8. Serve hot, showered with chopped cilantro.

Recipe Notes

• Homemade fish stock instead of water takes the broth to another level.
• Choose tightly closed mussels with a clean sea smell, and firm, translucent shrimp.
• Halibut or cod substitute well for monkfish.
• Clams, scallops or squid are all welcome guests in this pot.