Seafood cataplana over embers

Name: Seafood cataplana over embers
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 500 g clams; 400 g prawns; 400 g firm fish (monkfish or meagre) in cubes; 1 onion, 1 pepper and 2 tomatoes, sliced; 4 garlic cloves, 150 ml white wine; Olive oil, coriander, piri-piri and salt

The whole sea in one pot: clams, prawns and firm fish opening in white-wine steam, the copper cataplana resting on the embers. Opened at the table, applause guaranteed.

⏱ Prep: 20 min 🔥 Cook: 25 min 👥 Serves: 4 Indirect heat Difficulty: Média

Method

Layer the cataplana: onion, pepper, tomato, garlic, then fish and shellfish.
Drizzle with olive oil and white wine; season with salt and piri-piri.
Close it and set over medium-gentle embers.
Leave 20–25 minutes without opening — the steam does all the work.
Open at the table, shower with coriander, and bring bread for the broth.

🌡 Fire & temperature
Medium-gentle embers and patience: a cataplana never boils in fury, it whispers.
Chef's Station: exact temperatures →

🛍 Recommended product
EKOOLOGY briquettes — even heat under the copper, start to finish.
See the products → · Where to buy →

💡 Kool tip: Never open halfway! Every peek lets out the steam that cooks the shellfish.

🍷 Serve it with: Cold white wine and grilled corn bread. Nothing else required.

Next recipe: Vegetable board with ember salt →