How to Cook a Portuguese cataplana seafood stew

What's a cataplana? It's a delicious Portuguese dish and the cookware it's made in, shaped like a clam. So make sure you have a cataplana before you try out this recipe for Portuguese cataplana. It's super tasty, with lisbon sauce, stew, and seafood!

Traditionally, a copper cataplana pot is used to steam and serve this family-style meal but you can use whatever you have on hand. Assembled with a garlicy red pepper sauce, tomatoes, chorizo and an array of seafood, it makes an incredible presentation when you pop the lid to reveal the finished steaming stew. Watch this video and see how it is made.

Ingredients:

Lisbon Sauce

* 1 charred red pepper, peeled and seeded removed*

* 4 cloves garlic

* ½ cup olive oil

* 1 tsp salt

Stew Base

* 4 tomatoes, rough chopped & seeded

* 1 large sweet onion, quartered & sliced

* 2 Portuguese chorizos, half minced, half sliced

* 16 oz clam juice or chicken stock

* 2 cloves garlic, chopped

* 1/8 + ¼ + ¼ cup olive oil (you'll need to add these separately)

* 2 bay leaves

* pinch of fresh chopped parsley

* ½ tsp red pepper flakes

* sea salt

Additional Ingredients

* 2 tbsp olive oil

* 3 cloves garlic, rough chopped

* 1 lb mussels

* 1 lb clams

* 2 lbs squid tube, cleaned & chopped

* ½ lb conch, sliced (or scallops - but put scallops in last with shrimp if you substitute)

* ½ onion, quartered & sliced

* 1 cup white wine

* 1 lb shrimp, shelled and tails intact

* pinch of red pepper flakes

* ¼ cup store bought tomato sauce

* 4 fillets of sea bass

* chopped parsley

* 1 lemon, cut into wedges

* salt

Special Equipment

* copper cataplana pot, wok with foil cover, or pot with a lid