Copper-Pot Stew · Mixed Seafood
Cataplana de Marisco
Photo: Cayetano / Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0
The dish is named after the hinged copper pan it's cooked in, not the food itself — the pan's clamshell shape traps steam so tightly that everything inside essentially cooks itself.
Clams, shrimp, fish and sausage are layered with tomato, onion, garlic and peppers inside a sealed copper cataplana pot and steamed together until the flavors meld. Beachside stalls and market seafood counters across the Algarve serve it straight from the pan.
Why it's made this way: The clamshell-shaped copper pan traces back to Moorish-influenced cookware design, and its tight seal made it ideal for Algarve fishing communities cooking a mix of the day's smaller, less prized catch into one flavorful pot.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3443 dishes from 118 countries.
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