I wish someone had told me about Portuguese cataplana

“I wish someone had told me” is a series of posts that feed into our inquisitive nature at CN&CO. Each week we hear from someone in our network about something interesting or surprising that’s recently happened or occurred to them – or lessons they learnt. These blogs are a way to pay it forward and form part of CN&CO’s belief that the world can be a better place – and we all have a responsibility to make it so. This week’s post is by our admin goddess, Penny Hickinbotham:

A few years ago my husband, Mel, and I joined some friends on a barging trip in France, followed by a visit to the Algarve in Portugal. Being the foodies that we are, we couldn’t wait for the delicious Portuguese food.

But on our arrival in Vilamoura, all the local restaurants had fish and chips, etc, on the menu – I think to cater for all the British tourists. 

We were all looking forward to a proper cataplana meal and decided to drive into the hills. There we found a little restaurant with only local patrons and were served a wonderful authentic meal.

The Portuguese people are very friendly and helpful and their towns are all so clean. We also had wonderful experiences shopping in the markets, where everything is beautifully fresh.

I brought a cataplana pan back from the holiday and cooked the traditional dish on a subsequent trip to Plett. It’s a fantastically social meal, and all the guests loved it.

Here’s my recipe for a Portuguese pork and clam cataplana:

Portuguese Pork with Clams

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 500 g boneless pork shoulder, cubed
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 50 g bacon
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 large green pepper, sliced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp thyme
• 400 g tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 75 g tomato puree
• 225 ml white wine
• 150 g chorizo cut into chunks
• 500 g fresh clams
• Handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• One bowl of cooked rice

Preparation & Method

Heat the olive oil in a casserole dish or cataplana. Add the pork and fry until browned on all sides.

Add the onion, bacon, garlic, green pepper, paprika, bay leaf and thyme, and fry until the onions have softened.

Add the tomatoes, tomato puree and wine, mix well and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat and return the pork to the pan with the chorizo. Cover and simmer for 50 minutes.

Finally, just before serving, add the clams and parsley, mixing well, and cook for a further five minutes or until the clams have opened. Discard any that don’t open.

Mix a sprinkling of parsley and coriander with a bowl of cooked rice and serve with the pork and clams.