Recipes

Marmitako (Basque fish stew)

This wonderful Basque fish stew has a name that translates as ‘from the pot’. A traditional fisherman’s meal, here made with bonito, but you can also use tuna.

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Ingredients

For the fumet (fish stock)

  • head and bones of the bonito (see below), or you can use hake or cod head and bones (you can get these from the fishmonger)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 leek, roughly chopped
  • 1 carrot, roughly chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, very finely chopped
  • 1 onion, roughly chopped
  • 1 bay leaf

For the marmitako

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 onion, very finely chopped
  • 1 large Italian red pepper (around 200g/7oz) very finely chopped
  • 200g/7oz padron pepper, very finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, finely chopped with seeds removed
  • 5-6 ripe plum tomatoes, grated, to make a sauce
  • 2 dried choriceros peppers, soaked in water. Butterfly the peppers and scrape the paste from the inside with a spoon, leaving the skin (if you can’t get the peppers you can buy the paste)
  • 200ml/7fl oz Txakoli (a Basque wine), or other dry, slightly sparkling white wine
  • 1kg/2lb 4oz potatoes, peeled, cut into chunks the same size as the fish
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 75ml/2½fl oz extra virgin olive oil
  • 2kg/4lb 8oz bonito (if you can’t get hold of one, use 1kg/2lb 4oz of fresh tuna) cut into large chunks
  • bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

For the baby gem salad

  • 150ml/5fl oz extra virgin olive oil
  • 50ml/2fl oz Moscatel vinegar
  • 1 shallot, very finely chopped
  • small bunch of chives, finely chopped
  • 3 sweet Basque piquillo peppers (from a jar), cut into strips
  • 2 heads of Little Gem, leaves only
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper