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Portugese Clams in a Cataplana Casa Velha

A Portuguese clam stew cooked in a cataplana with onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, prosciutto, ham, chouriço, wine, and parsley.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Portugese Clams in a Cataplana Casa Velha

Time30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Purge the clams

  1. Scrub the clams well in cool water, pile them in a large deep kettle, add the cold water, salt, and cornmeal, which acts as an irritant that forces the clams to purge themselves of grit.

  2. Let the clams stand in the cold water for about 1 hour.

Make the sauce

  1. Stir-fry the onions, garlic, and green peppers in the oil in a large heavy skillet over moderate heat for 8 to 10 minutes until limp and golden.

  2. Add the bay leaf, tomatoes, and their juice; break up any large clumps of tomatoes, bring the mixture to a simmer, cover, and cook slowly for 30 minutes.

  3. Add the tomato sauce, prosciutto, smoked ham, and pepperoni; re-cover and cook 30 minutes longer.

  4. You may make the sauce up to two days ahead, but buy the clams on the day you plan to serve the cataplana.

  5. Refrigerate the sauce until ready to proceed.

Cook and serve

  1. Assemble the cataplana by spooning half the tomato mixture into the bottom of a very large cataplana (about 15 inches across) or into a large heavy Dutch-oven type kettle, bring to a simmer over moderate heat, adjust the heat so the mixture barely boils, arrange the clams on top, spoon in the remaining tomato sauce, cover tightly, and cook 10 minutes over moderately low heat.

  2. Open the cataplana or kettle, pour in the wine, scatter the parsley evenly on top, then toss the clams lightly; re-cover and cook slowly for 15 to 20 minutes longer until the clams open/discard any that do not.

  3. Carry the cataplana or kettle to the table, open, and ladle into large soup plates.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

564Calories
54 gProtein
28 gFat
19 gCarbs

Counts 11 of 13 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Pork100g cooked242
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Shrimp100g cooked99
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Olive + tomatotop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,539 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Garlic + olivetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together25,665 recipes

    Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).

  4. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Clams
The main protein; they release liquor and open as they cook, flavouring the sauce.
Onions
Melt down during slow cooking to build sweetness and body in the sauce.
Tomatoes
Provide acidity, liquid and body that form the base of the sauce.
Prosciutto, smoked ham and chouriço
Add salty, smoky, fatty flavour that seasons the sauce as it simmers.
Olive oil
Carries the aromatics and helps them soften and brown in the pan.
Dry white wine
Adds acidity and aroma that brighten the sauce and steam the clams open.

The step that matters

Cooking the clams until they open. Clams cook quickly and turn rubbery if overcooked, while undercooked ones stay closed and may be unsafe. Cook gently and discard any that do not open.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (clam, sauce, onion, garlic, pepper, olive, tomato):

  1. Parsleyfits better
  2. Thymefits better
  3. Cuminfits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against clam, sauce, onion, garlic, pepper, olive, tomato. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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