Here’s a simple recipe for Portuguese Fish Stew (Caldeirada) that can be made with fish or shellfish in a fragrant yet simple, saffron broth, studded with potatoes. Rustic and light, this summer stew can be made in just 30 minutes! Serve with Rice or Crusty Bread! Video.

Here's a simple recipe for Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada) that can be made with fish or shellfish in a fragrant yet simple, saffron broth, studded with potatoes. Rustic and light, this summer stew can be made in just 30 minutes! Serve with Rice or Crusty Bread!

This rustic fish stew hails from Portugal, called Caldeirada, is light and flavorful and infused with saffron. Today I’ve used a mix of salmon and wild cod,  but in the past, I’ve thrown in mussels and shrimp.  It’s a nice way to use what you have. New potatoes give the soup a little body. Serve it on its own or with crusty bread to mop up the flavorful saffron broth.

The best part? This Portuguese fish Stew comes together in under 30 minutes! A delicious dinner in no time flat.

Portuguese Fish STew | Video

Ingredients in Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada)

It starts with sauteing the onion and garlic until golden and fragrant.  Add the diced tomatoes and cook until they soften and begin losing their shape.

how to make Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada)

Add a generous pinch of saffron, crumbling it a little in your fingers.

add saffron to How to make Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada)

Add the stock, bay leaves, salt, spices and potatoes. to keep this lower carb- feel free to sub cauliflower. Not traditional, but it works!

How to make Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada)

Bring the potatoes to a simmer, cover and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

How to make Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada)

Then add the fish and thyme.

The best firm fish for soups or stews: 

You generally want to use firm white fish for most stews and soups, because they will hold their shape and not disintegrate in the liquid. Here are 10 the best fish (and seafood) to use in soups and stews.

  1. sea bass
  2. halibut
  3. black cod
  4. haddock
  5. escolar
  6. ono
  7. red snapper
  8. salmon
  9. scallops
  10. shrimp

How to make Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada)

Simmer gently until the fish is just cooked through, about 4 minutes.

Try not to stir too much, but rather gently ladle the saffron broth over top.

How to make Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada)

Garnish with fresh parsley or cilantro, a squeeze of lemon, and if you like spice- some chili flakes.

Here's a simple recipe for Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada) that can be made with fish or shellfish in a fragrant yet simple, saffron broth, studded with potatoes. Rustic and light, this summer stew can be made in just 30 minutes! Serve with Rice or Crusty Bread!

Dish up the Portuguese Fish Stew and serve with crusty bread or rice if you want.

Here's a simple recipe for Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada) that can be made with fish or shellfish in a fragrant yet simple, saffron broth, studded with potatoes. Rustic and light, this summer stew can be made in just 30 minutes! Serve with Rice or Crusty Bread!

I hope you enjoy the stew!

More recipes you may like:

xoxo

Sylvia

 

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Here's a simple recipe for Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada) that can be made with fish or shellfish in a fragrant yet simple, saffron broth, studded with potatoes. Rustic and light, this summer stew can be made in just 30 minutes! Serve with Rice or Crusty Bread!

Portuguese Fish Stew (Caldeirada)

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 49 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine
  • Prep Time: 10
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Fish, Stew
  • Method: Stove top
  • Cuisine: Portuguese
  • Diet: Gluten Free
Print Recipe

Description

Here’s a simple recipe for Portuguese Fish Stew (aka Caldeirada) that can be made with fish or shellfish in a fragrant yet simple, saffron broth, studded with potatoes. Rustic and light, this summer stew can be made in just 30 minutes! Serve with Rice or Crusty Bread!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 4 cups chicken stock (or fish stock, or use half clam juice)
  • 2 teaspoons fish sauce ( skip if using fish stock/clam juice)
  • large pinch saffron, crumbled
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground clove (or allspice)- optional see notes
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1–2 tablespoons fresh thyme (lemon thyme is nice)
  • 1 lb potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes (yukon, baby red or white) thin skins ok -but peel russets. Or sub cauliflower for a lower carb version.
  • ——-
  • 1.5 lbs fish fillets- (boneless, skinless) wild cod, haddock, sea bass, salmon (or feel free to mix in or substitute shellfish- clams, mussels, shrimp, etc.) cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.

Garnish: Lemon wedges, fresh Italian parsley or cilantro, Crusty Bread, chili flakes

Instructions

In a large dutch oven or heavy bottom pot, heat oil over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic, stirring until softened, fragrant and golden, about 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and their juices. Cook until tomatoes soften, about 4 minutes.

Add the white wine, and simmer until most has evaporated, about 2-3 minutes.

Add stock, fish sauce ( if using chicken broth), saffron, a pinch of ground clove or allspice, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, bay leaves and fresh thyme.  Add potatoes and bring to boil. Cover and simmer on low heat until potatoes are fork-tender, about 15 minutes.

Add fish, bring to a simmer over medium heat, give a gentle stir ( don’t over stir or fish will break apart) and cook fish until it is just cooked through about 3-4 minutes. Turn heat off.

Taste broth. Adjust salt, adding more if necessary.

Garnish with fresh torn Italian parsley leaves, lemon wedges, chili flakes and crusty bread.

Notes

Traditional Portuguese Fish Stew varies from village to village and is typically made with the day’s catch, or the addition of shellfish, or a combo of two types of fish, one oily and one not.  Some varieties include cured chorizo that has been browned which add depth and smokiness (it doesn’t take much).

Feel free to sub fish stock.

The pinch of cloves or allspice is optional – you’ll see these in some Caldeirada recipes but not all. If in doubt leave out. I really liked the allspice- up to you. 😉

Not all saffron is the same. Generally the darker the color, the more flavor. If you are craving the saffron flavor, keep in mind the smoked paprika will mute that somewhat.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size:
  • Calories: 447
  • Sugar: 6.7 g
  • Sodium: 305.6 mg
  • Fat: 19 g
  • Saturated Fat: 3 g
  • Carbohydrates: 30.2 g
  • Fiber: 5.5 g
  • Protein: 41.6 g
  • Cholesterol: 86.7 mg

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Comments

  1. I wouldn’t call it caldeirada because caldeirada is not done this way. This recipe might be flavorful (I haven’t tried it yet) but this is just another type of fish stew not the Portuguese caldeirada. The caldeirada is made of layers of potatoes, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and fish that goes on the pan at the same time and cooks about 30m in it’s own juices, olive oil and white wine without any stirring just shaking the pan once or twice. It can vary on the fish used or de herbs and spices and can have also shellfish but the method is always the same. It’s one of the few Portuguese dishes that does not start with a sauté. Besides I never saw fish stock being used on caldeirada let alone chicken stock. I’m sorry for the correction. I have made some of your dishes and liked what I’ve tried but as Portuguese with a grandmother from the region where caldeirada has come to life I couldn’t give it a pass.

    Reply

    1. Hi, I haven’t tried it but don’t see wy not? Give it a try! Will you let us know how it turns out?

      Reply

  3. I tripled the recipe. WAY too much liquid. With the tomatoes you need 2 cups of stock. I put 4 cups of stock in, spent ages reducing it down and it was still watery. The potatoes took some up but it was pretty much a soup. I used 2 tbsp fish sauce not 6 tbsp. 6 tbsp would be too much. So carefully adjust the recipe if you do 2x or 3x the amount as written.

    Reply

    1. Hey Cathie, thanks for the feedback. The recipe is a little brothy intentionally, also using the multiplier may change things here- did you multiply the fish and potatoes as well? The fish sauce, multiplied by 3 calls for 6 teaspoons (2 tablespoons) which is what you used, so that is good. 🙂

      Reply

  4. Delicious! I made it tonight. I added Cauli, kale, and thinly sliced zucchini. For fish I used haddock and scallops. So yummy!



    Reply

  5. So good!!! I forgot the fish sauce and it still tasted amazing. Love how soft and perfect the salmon is. And I love potatoes! Yay haha. Thank you Sylvia!



    Reply

  6. This was delicious, light and satisfying on a cold winter night. Comes together quickly. The saffron is quite subtle but lovely. I used one link of chorizo I had in the freezer and it added a nice kick. I used pollock and some baby scallops and fish broth. It was NOT fishy as I had feared. The lemon and cilantro really brightened it at the end. Another really good recipe and quite adaptable!



    Reply

  7. Lordy I can’t believe how delicious this is! Incredible depth of flavor with such simple ingredients. Alterations: Didn’t have ground spices so threw in clove and allspice whole, picked out with bay leaves. Used cippollini for onion. Veggie stock and fish sauce (no clam juice or fish stock). Only ingredients I had to shop for were fish themselves. QUESTION/feedback: I experienced much difficulty cutting fish into cubes and separating from skin. What are the tips/tricks there for those of us not used to handling seafood?



    Reply

    1. Hey Stephanie-you can ask your grocery store butcher to remove the skin for you, if that is easier? Otherwise, use a very sharp knife, place fish filet on a cutting board, skin side down. Staring with the tail end towards you, slip your knife between skin and flesh and angle the blade down towards the skin, cutting away from you, and downwards. Skin the fish first before cutting into pieces. 🙂 Hope this helps, there are also videos on line if you google. 🙂

      Reply

  8. This was delicious. My mother is from Portugal and I made this for her. She enjoyed it very much and said it reminded her of home. Thank you.



    Reply

  9. Hi, just wondering if this one would work to cook ahead and heat up for lunches? My gut says no, but I would really love if it did!

    Reply

  10. A question: The recipe says 4 c chicken stock or 1/2 clam juice….Does that mean use 2 c chicken stock and 2 clam juice or JUST 2 c clam juice? Thank you!!

    Reply

  11. Made this afternoon was delighted with the outcome, very good even though I didn’t have every ingredient still turned out great



    Reply

  12. It was amazing. Did with homemade fish stock. Added a pound of shrimp, few slices of chorizo and pinch of chili flakes. Also reduces fish stock to 3 cups. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.

    Reply

  13. I just returned from a wonderful visit to Portugal and loved the food! I look forward to making this recipe. If I want to add shrimp, do I add it at the same time I add the fish so it is cooked properly or do I add it earlier or later? Thank you.

    Reply

    1. It really depends on the size of the shrimp- you’ll kind of have to guess based on size. Smaller guys will just take a couple minutes, larger ones, longer. 🙂

      Reply

  14. One of my favorite travel experiences was Portugal. There was a restaurant we ate at for three consecutive evenings in a remote village after long days of hiking. They served something incredibly similar to this soup – and eating this takes me back to that trip. Thank you! This is so simple and delicious and the flavors come together perfectly.



    Reply

    2. I’ve made this for family and we love it. I’m going to do it for a dinner party and need to know how many recipe serves. 1.5 pounds of seafood doesn’t seem enough for six people.

      Reply

  20. Totally delicious! I added a bit of Chorizo and mussels, as suggested and it works out so well! Love this recipe…. ticks all the boxes 😉



    Reply

  22. Hi.That fish stew looks very nice,but i will like to know,if i don’t put Saffron in it
    how much of a different will it taste?
    Best Regards
    Dennis

    Reply

    1. Hi Dennis, saffron is subtle here, but really elevates. I think the stew would be good without, but the saffron just adds. 🙂

      Reply

    2. What can said about Portugal a rich culture in history.And also in cooking with style and being creative especially fish as cod soups. With that you savor the taste through your sweet mouth.. During those cold winters. I hope to visit your country again soon.



      Reply

  24. Best recipe I’ve found yet! Most like the fish soup my Mother used to make, she was from the island of Sao Jorge.
    I look forward to trying more of Sylvia’s recipes in the near future! Thank you & Bon Apetit!

    Reply

  25. This is a great recipe, so easy and its delicious! it’s in my rotation and I usually throw in a extra vegetable- I’m lazy with sides and it cooks in the tasty sauce in a snap. the crusty bread side is a good call- don’t waste that sauce.



    Reply

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