Ingredients
Fish
- 800 gfresh bonito or albacore tuna loin, skinned
Sofrito
- 4 tbspolive oil
- 2onions, chopped
- 1green pepper, chopped
- 4 clovesgarlic
- 1 tspsweet paprika
Peppers
- 3dried choricero peppers, or 3 tbsp choricero pulp
- 2ñoras, optional
Pot
- 1.2 kgpotatoes
- 1 litrefish stock or water
- 1bay leaf
- salt
To serve
- crusty bread
- chopped parsley
Directions
- Soak the dried choricero peppers in hot water for an hour, then scrape the soft flesh from the skins with a spoon and discard the skins and seeds. It is sweet, mild and slightly smoky, and jarred pulp is sold ready-scraped.
- Cut the tuna into large 3 cm chunks and keep it in the fridge until the very end. Neatly cubed potatoes give a thin, watery stew. Fry the onion and green pepper slowly in the olive oil for 15 minutes until soft and sweet.
- Add the garlic and the paprika and cook 30 seconds only. Paprika burns fast and turns bitter, so it goes in last and off the heat if necessary.
- Stir in the choricero pulp and cook 2 minutes. Add the broken potatoes and turn them in the sofrito so every face is coated.
- Pour in the stock to barely cover, add the bay leaf and salt, and simmer 20 to 25 minutes until the potatoes are tender. The broth should thicken by itself as the potato starch releases.
- Crush two or three pieces of potato against the side of the pot if you want it thicker. Bonito needs about 2 minutes and the residual heat of the pot is enough; boiled in the stew it goes dry, grey and stringy within minutes.
- Taste for salt, scatter parsley over, and serve with bread. Let it stand five minutes before serving, which lets the flavours settle without cooking the fish further.
Technique
- Bonito del norte is the summer fish and the season runs roughly June to October.
- It does not reheat well, because the second heating overcooks the tuna.
- Jarred choricero pulp is sold as carne de pimiento choricero and is a genuine shortcut.
Substitutions
- Good tinned bonito in olive oil, stirred in off the heat at the end.
- Ñora peppers or a spoonful of sweet paprika if choricero is unavailable, which is not the same.
Variations
- Made with fresh cod or hake.
- With a splash of white wine in the sofrito.
- With a dried guindilla chilli for heat.
History
Cooked by Basque bonito fishermen in the marmita pot aboard ship; potatoes and peppers replaced older ingredients after the Columbian exchange.
Frequently asked questions
What is Marmitako?
Marmitako is a soup & stew from Spain: basque tuna, potato and pepper stew cooked in one pot. Cooked by Basque bonito fishermen in the marmita pot aboard ship; potatoes and peppers replaced older ingredients after the Columbian exchange.
How long does Marmitako take to make?
Marmitako takes 30 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Marmitako?
Yes, within limits. Good tinned bonito in olive oil, stirred in off the heat at the end. Ñora peppers or a spoonful of sweet paprika if choricero is unavailable, which is not the same.
