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Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe)

⏱ ~80 min (est.)MediumSeafoodPortuguese
Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe)

A crowd-pleasing Portuguese seafood built around coriander, red chilli and dry white wine — roughly 80 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. You'll find the full ingredient list (with a scaler to change the servings), 9 steps of method, substitutions, and ideas for what to serve alongside.

You'll mainly reach for frying pan / skillet and pan. At medium difficulty across 9 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, it's pescatarian — fish but no meat.

What you'll need

Servings4

Shopping list (12)

Pantry staples (you likely have these)

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How to make it

  1. Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, deep-sided frying pan, and fry the onion and pepper on a medium heat until softened but not browned.
  2. Finely chop the coriander stalks (keep the leaves for later), and add to the pan with the chilli and chopped garlic.
  3. Fry for another few minutes.
  4. Add the wine, saffron and bay leaf and let it simmer until reduced by half.
  5. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, and 300ml water and bring to a gentle boil. Break up the tomatoes with a spoon on the side of the pan and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are just tender, and the tomatoes have broken down.
  6. Season well, then gently push the fish into the sauce, and arrange the squid, prawns, clams and mussels on the surface.
  7. Put the lid on and cook for 6-8 minutes until the mussel and clam shells have opened, the prawns are cooked and the fish is flaky.
  8. Toast the bread, rub lightly with the halved garlic clove and drizzle with olive oil.
  9. Serve the stew scatted with chopped coriander leaves, and the toasts for dunking.

You'll use: Frying pan / skillet · Pan · Large pot · Saucepan

Watch how it's made

Hosted on YouTube — pressing play loads content from YouTube.

Ingredient substitutions

White Wine
chicken or vegetable stock + 1 tsp vinegar

What to serve with Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe)

Tips & common questions

How long does Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe) take to make?

About 80 minutes from start to finish — an estimate based on the 9 steps and 16 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.

What can I use instead of white wine?

Try chicken or vegetable stock + 1 tsp vinegar. See the substitutions section above for more swaps.

Can I scale this recipe up or down?

Yes — use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.

How should I store leftovers?

Cool leftovers quickly, refrigerate in an airtight container, and eat within 3 days. Reheat until piping hot throughout.

Recipe data for Portuguese fish stew (Caldeirada de peixe) via TheMealDB (open database). ▶ Video. Original source. Consomee adds the scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure — how we source recipes.