Cataplana: The Algarve's Culinary Heritage

As traditional a Portuguese dish as you can get, cataplana — much like the beautiful Portuguese people — is a diverse delight.

Cataplana

Is it a clamshell-shaped cooking vessel or a delectable dish? Turns out this Algarvian treasure is both. All along the southern coast of Portugal, bathed by the Atlantic Ocean, the cataplana is recognized as an icon of the local cuisine.

Little is known about the origins of the cataplana because there are few historical records about its creation. Many believe that the cataplana can be traced to the eighth-century Moorish occupation and a concept not unique to the clamshell pan. Slow steam cooking at low temperature in a sealed container, as is the case with the cataplana, is also found in another cooking vessel, the clay tagine, traditionally used by some north African peoples.

Read more about cataplana as a pan and as a dish plus get recipes and more cataplana insight in this Relish Portugal feature story. Visit Tertúlia Algarvia at https://www.tertulia-algarvia.pt/en