This is the second installment of my newest segment on my blog – Janice’s Kitchen Corner. I have so many recipes to share with you. Check out the first recipe (Spinach Pita Pizza) in this series here. In the past I have also shared recipes for Portuguese cookies and Drunken Chicken.
Here is a map of Portugal and a photo of Pousada de Palmela with sopa de pedra (stone soup) in the foreground. All the photos in this beautiful cookbook are gorgeous and the food looks so appetizing.
Maybe another time I will make Clams Cataplana. I had this dish in Madeira. It was fabulous with clams and tomato broth and potatoes and served with crusty bread! I ate every mouthful! I would have licked the plate but people were beginning to watch this little woman who can eat like a lumberjack! Ha! The chef was pleased whenI sent him compliments!
I have been to Portugal and Madeira and loved the food there and the people were so warm, friendly and welcoming. My grandparents came from Madeira and always told me that I had to visit this beautiful island. It is completely lush and green with high mountains that you traverse on narrow roads. It look my breath away with its beauty and height that I am deathly afraid of but had to go up to the top to appreciate its magnificence.
Walking around the island I felt at peace. It was like I was back in my home as a child listening to the shushing sound of the language. It was quite soothing to my soul. My parents and grandparents spoke Portuguese at home. I never learned but could figure out what they were saying after awhile. I only know a few (un pecunyo) words. Check out my post on Portugal and Madeira.
This recipe today is from a Portuguese cookbook my son and daughter-in-law gave me many years ago.
As with a lot of recipes I change things up a bit. This recipe which I renamed Portuguese Seafood Stew is in this recipe book as Fish Stew Guincho-Style or in Portuguese Caldeirada a Moda de Guincho. Here is a photo of the original recipe which I changed up a little. Feel free to use this or adjust to your own preferences. I apologize to the author for taking her recipes and changing them up.
The recipe is on the left page and continues onto the right.
This recipe calls for 2 kinds of fish and 4 types of seafood. It feeds 6-8 servings. I only had four people to cook for and didn’t want to include the fish. So, I adjusted the recipe to include all the seafood plus scallops, eliminated the peppers (I can’t eat them – upset my stomach) and added Chorizo and then followed the recipe for everything else. I did not add the coriander at the end, it did not need it. But you can do whatever you like.
If you do include fish use 2 kinds of lean white fish (i.e., cod, monkfish, hake, flounder or haddock put in fish as one piece). Also include two kinds of oily fish (i.e., Mackerel, swordfish, tuna).
Here are the ingredients I used: (Serves 4)
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 large cloves of garlic minced
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs parsley or 2 fresh parsley branches
- 1 large bay leaf
- 5 peppercorns
- 1 large can of chopped tomatoes in juice
- 2 1/2 tbs of tomato paste
- 1 cup dry white wine
- 1/2 cup water
- half a pkg of Chorizo sliced in chunks
- 1/2 lb of squid cleaned and sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 8 scallops
- 8 littleneck claims in shell scrubbed and purged of grit (to purge grit: cover clams with cold water, add a tbs of cornmeal and let stand at room temperature for 20-30 minutes)
- 8 jumbo or larger shrimp taken out of shells
- 1 lb mussels bearded and scrubbed well
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- sprinkle of coriander or parsley over finished product
Directions:
- In a large heavy kettle or saucepan set over moderate heat
- Saute onions, garlic and green peppers (if you include them) in olive oil 15 minutes
- Turn heat to low, cover and steam 20 minutes
- Add parsley, bay leaves, peppercorns, tomatoes, paste, wine and water (I also added a bottle of clam juice) and simmer stirring now and then, 10 minutes
- Add squid and clams, cover simmer for 30 minutes.
- If you include fish – add fish now but don’t stir, also add Chorizo, scallops, shrimp and mussels, sprinkle with pepper, cover, and cook gently for 15 to 20 minutes until mussels open and fish flakes.
- Carefully stir the mixture, breaking the fish into large chunks and bringing the tomato mixture up on top.
- Ladle into large soup plates, sprinkle with coriander (optional) and serve with crusty chunks of bread and/or pasta which I did. I cooked linguine and placed the seafood over it. See photo below.
You can also grate some Parmesan/Romano cheese over the top. Makes it extra zesty and delicious! Don’t forget to mop up all that out-of-this-world broth with your crusty bread! I don’t know about you but my mouth is watering now and I want to make it again! My husband loves it!
I’m sorry I didn’t take photos of everything when I was making this. I used frozen uncooked shrimp, calamari (squid), scallops, and chopped clams, and fresh clams in shell. You can use all fresh seafood if you can get it at your grocery. I like to keep frozen seafood at the ready whenever I have a hankering for this dish!
Whether you are Portuguese or not you will love this dish if you love seafood like I do! It’s a quick dish to make. It takes longer to get all the ingredients together than to prepare the meal.
I hope you enjoyed learning a little about beautiful Portugal and Madeira. If you ever have a chance to visit please go for the beauty of the country, the lovely people and their fabulous food. Come back again for another recipe soon! I will feature one or two a week.
Thank you so much for stopping by to read this post. Thank you for your kind support of me, my blog, books and for all the reviews you may have posted wherever my books are sold.
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Janice Spina aka J.E. Spina
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Jemsbooks for All Ages!
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A fantastic recipe, Janice. Thanks for sharing it. I would love to visit Portugal and Madeira.
What a fabulous cook book! It really ties food with its country. Your stew looks yummy! 🙂
Thank you, Carol! 😘