Caldeirada de Frutos do Mar ( Fish and Seafood Stew)

Brazilian loves fish and seafood, coast to coast, and have lots of different recipes and different fishes. This is one of them, delicious, and healthy, fast and easy to make. It might be a little difficult to find the same kind of fish that I use in this recipe, but it can be substitute for any kind of fish, basically. Important is the cut of the fish. It have to be in a thick steaks, and choose fishes that don’t have too much fish-bone.

35 oz dogfish, clean and cut into steaks

35 oz corvina fish, clean and cut into steaks

21 oz medium shrimp, peeled and clean

14 oz squid rings

7 oz mussels, without shell (optional)

Put the fishes together in a bowl, and the seafood together in another bowl, and season them, allowing to marinade at least one hour before start the dish.

season with:

6 garlic cloves, mashed into paste with a tsp of salt

lemon juice

thyme and basil to taste

For the Stew:

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in thick slices (0.3 inches approximately)

5 small tomatoes, cut in cubes

1 green bell pepper, cut in cubes

3 large onions, cut in cubes

8 garlic cloves, shopped

1 dedo de moça pepper or any kind of hot pepper, if you please

1 cup tomato juice (6 tomatoes blended- no water added)

1/2 cup olive oil, plus 3 Tbsp

2 cups white wine

parsley, green onion, and oregano to taste

1 sachet sazon (coriander and annatto)

In a large sauce pan, place 3 Tbsp of olive oil, and arrange the potatoes in order to cover all the bottom of the pan, in 2 layers.

On top of those potatoes, place the fishes.

On top of the fishes we going to place tomatoes in cubes, green bell peppers, onions, garlic cloves, dedo de moça, tomato juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, the white wine, sazon, and the herbs.

With the help of a fork, carelessly open little spaces between the fishes so this liquid of flavors on the top can smoothly slide in the bottom. Don’t try to hard, just a little help, in the end, all will mix anyways. Close the pan and after boiling, turn down the heat to medium low and let cook for 10-15 minutes.

Now it is time to add the seafood, shrimps, squid rings, and mussels. Let cook for more 5 minutes. Correct the salt, and serve with white rice or couscous, and a loaf of ciabatta to dip in the juices.

Enjoy