Calulu

Ingredients

Fish

• 500 gsmoked fish (smoked barracuda, kingfish or mackerel), broken into large pieces
• 300 gdried salted fish, soaked overnight in three changes of water
• 400 gfresh firm fish steaks (grouper, snapper or shark), cut into 5 cm pieces
• Juice of 2 limes

The pot

• 150 mlred palm oil (azeite de dendê)
• 3onions (450 g), sliced
• 8garlic cloves, crushed
• 4tomatoes (400 g), chopped
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 300 gokra, topped and cut into 2 cm lengths
• 2aubergines (400 g), cubed
• 500 gsweet potato leaves, amaranth or spinach, shredded
• 150 gdried shrimp, rinsed
• 2bay leaves
• 1 tbspfresh thyme leaves
• 2malagueta or piri-piri chillies, whole
• 1.2 litreswater
• 2 tspsalt
• Black pepper

To serve

• Funge or angu (cassava or maize flour porridge), or plain rice
• Fried ripe plantain

Directions

1. Soak the dried salted fish overnight in cold water, changing it three times, then drain and flake it coarsely. Rub the fresh fish with the lime juice and a little salt and set aside 20 minutes.
2. Warm the palm oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat. Take it just to the point where it thins and turns bright orange, about 2 minutes. Do not smoke it: overheated dendê goes bitter and loses the flavour that defines the dish.
3. Soften the onion and garlic in the oil for 10 minutes until translucent and sweet, then add the tomato and tomato paste and cook 10 minutes until it darkens and the oil separates.
4. Add the smoked fish, the soaked salted fish and the dried shrimp with the bay, thyme and whole chillies, and pour in the water. Simmer gently, uncovered, for 30 minutes so the smoke works into the broth.
5. Add the aubergine and cook 15 minutes until it slumps and starts to thicken the pot.
6. Add the okra and cook 10–12 minutes. It should soften and release enough mucilage to give calulu its characteristic slippery body, but still hold shape; boiled to rags it turns the stew to glue.
7. Lay the fresh fish pieces on top, cover, and poach 8–10 minutes without stirring, until they flake at the thickest point. Stirring now will shred them.
8. Fold the shredded leaves through in handfuls and cook 10 minutes more until dark and tender. Season with salt and pepper; the smoked and salted fish will already have done much of the work.
9. Rest 15 minutes off the heat so the palm oil rises and pools orange on top, which is how it is meant to look, then serve over funge with fried plantain.

Technique

• Calulu is the national dish of Sao Tome and Principe and the Santomean version is emphatically fish-based, unlike the Angolan calulu de carne seca which uses dried meat. Three states of fish, smoked, salted and fresh, is the classic structure.
• Red palm oil is not interchangeable with palm kernel oil or refined palm oil. You want the unrefined orange-red dendê, which carries the earthy, slightly grassy flavour and the colour.
• The okra is the thickener. If your pot is thin, mash a few okra pieces against the side of the pan rather than adding flour.
• The whole chillies should be lifted out before serving. Santomean cooking is aromatic rather than fiercely hot, and heat is added at the table with molho de pimenta.

Substitutions

• No smoked barracuda? Any hot-smoked oily fish works, including smoked mackerel from a supermarket; add it later, in the last 20 minutes, as it is softer.
• Sweet potato leaves are hard to find outside the tropics. Use spinach, chard or amaranth, added at the very end since they collapse faster.
• If red palm oil is unavailable, use 100 ml neutral oil plus 1 tbsp sweet paprika for colour, and accept that the dish will taste noticeably different.

Variations

• Calulu de peixe seco, made entirely with dried fish, cooked when fresh catch is scarce.
• The Angolan calulu, built on dried and salted meat with the same okra and palm oil base.
• Some Principe cooks add a handful of pounded peanuts, which thickens and sweetens the pot.

History

Dried and fresh fish cooked with sweet potato leaves, okra and palm oil, a dish shared with São Tomé and rooted in Afro-Portuguese kitchens.

Frequently asked questions

What is Calulu?

Calulu is a soup & stew from Angola: dried fish layered with greens, okra and palm oil. Dried and fresh fish cooked with sweet potato leaves, okra and palm oil, a dish shared with São Tomé and rooted in Afro-Portuguese kitchens.

How long does Calulu take to make?

Calulu takes 40 min plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Calulu?

Yes, within limits. No smoked barracuda? Any hot-smoked oily fish works, including smoked mackerel from a supermarket; add it later, in the last 20 minutes, as it is softer. Sweet potato leaves are hard to find outside the tropics. Use spinach, chard or amaranth, added at the very end since they collapse faster. If red palm oil is unavailable, use 100 ml neutral oil plus 1 tbsp sweet paprika for colour, and accept that the dish will taste noticeably different.

What is the most important thing to get right in Calulu?

Warm the palm oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat. Take it just to the point where it thins and turns bright orange, about 2 minutes. Do not smoke it: overheated dendê goes bitter and loses the flavour that defines the dish.