LOVE THE FISH YOU’RE WITH

 

Sorropotún is a Cantabrian fishermen's stew of albacore tuna and potatoes.

Summer is the season for fresh albacore tuna, in Spanish known as bonito del norte or atún blanco, white tuna. Fished off the Cantabrian coast (northern Spain), albacore is commercially important for the canning industry.

I love albacore for sashimi (raw), for grilling and for fish stews. But here it is, almost fall, and somehow I kept missing the albacore (Thunnus alalunga) in local markets. I will just have to go with what I’ve got, love the fish I’m with. I’ve got some big pieces of listado, skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), in the freezer in anticipation of sashimi. I marinated bonito (Sarda sarda, not the same as bonito del norte) for a cold escabeche salad. Today I found a smaller fish of the same family, melva, or frigate mackerel, to make the fishermen’s stew. 

Like bluefin tuna, melva is dark red.

Unlike albacore which is very light-fleshed, these alternative fish, like atún rojo, bluefin (Thunnus thynnus), are dark, bloody red. To lighten them Spanish cooks usually soak the fish in ice water with salt and vinegar before cooking . 

This Cantabrian stew of albacore and potatoes, called sorropotún or marmita, was traditionally made on board fishing vessels with simple ingredients—chunks of fish, potatoes, wine, olive oil, dry choricero peppers. You can embellish it as you like—fish stock instead of water, herbs, spices. 

Choricero and ñora are two kinds of bittersweet (not hot) dry peppers. After the peppers have cooked awhile, their flesh is scraped from the insides and incorporated in the stew. Pimentón (paprika) is a simple substitute or else puree roasted red bell peppers or piquillos in a blender to make a red paste. 

The preferred technique for cutting up the potatoes is called chascar. Instead of slicing or dicing them with a knife, you snap off irregular-sized pieces that release starch that thickens the stew in cooking. Use the knife to cut into a potato, then bend it towards you to break off the chunk of potato. 

The stew traditionally was served with strips of stale bread on top to soak up the juices. A very tasty way to do this is to top the servings with croutons of fried bread or croutons that have been crushed to crunchy crumbs.

Potatoes, green peppers, onions and red pepper paste are the basis of the stew. Add pieces of fish once the potatoes are tender. 

Crunchy crumbs of fried bread top a serving of the stew.

Cantabrian Fishermen’s Stew

Sorropotún

After soaking, fish is not so dark red.

1 pound filleted and skinned fresh albacore tuna or substitute

1 teaspoon vinegar (optional)

Salt 

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup finely chopped onion

½ cup green pepper cut in strips

¼ cup roasted red peppers or piquillo peppers or 2 tablespoons choricero pulp

1 teaspoon pimentón (paprika, not smoked)

¼ cup white wine

1 pound potatoes

1 bay leaf

Fennel, thyme or oregano (optional)

3 cups fish stock or water

Freshly ground black pepper

Chopped parsley

Strips of bread or crunchy croutons (optional)

Cut the tuna into bite-size pieces. If desired, place it in a bowl, cover with cold water. Add vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes. Drain well before cooking.

Cook potatoes in water or stock.

Heat the oil in a cazuela or deep skillet. Sauté the onions on medium heat until softened, 3 minutes. Add the green pepper and sauté 2 minutes more.

Puree the red or piquillo peppers in a blender with the pimentón and wine. Stir into the pan and cook 2 minutes. 

Peel the potatoes and snap them into bite-size pieces. Add potatoes to the pan with the bay leaf, herbs if using and fish stock or water. If using water, add 1 teaspoon of salt. Add the pepper. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Add the drained tuna and cook until it loses its pink color, 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to stand 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley. If desired, serve the stew topped with strips of bread or croutons.

More recipes for types of tuna:

Pot-Roasted Tuna.

Fish Cakes with Bonito.

Poke Bowl with Bonito.

Basque Tuna-Potato Stew (Marmitako).

Grilled Tuna with Onion Confit.

Marinated Bonito with Olives.

TWO WAYS WITH TUNA

Summertime is tuna time. Both the Atlantic bluefin tuna, atún rojo, (Thunnus thynnus) and the albacore tuna, called in Spanish bonito del norte or atún blanco, (Thunnus alalunga) are fished off Spanish coasts. The bluefin are captured as they head for the Mediterranean (see more about the almadraba tuna fishing here ) while the albacore are caught on the northern Cantabrian coast and Bay of Biscay.

A great price for bonito del norte--albacore tuna.

It was albacore, or bonito del norte, that I found at a local market at a really good price for either the whole fish (big, but not as big as bluefin) or a thick steak.  I’ve been buying canned bonito del norte instead of tuna for a long time, as the albacore, with catch quotas in place, is less threatened than the bluefin. But I had never cooked it fresh before.

Albacore is "white tuna."

Albacore, which can legally be called “white tuna,” really is much lighter-fleshed than the deep red tuna. Less fatty, it can be dry if overcooked. I tried it two ways—quickly grilled on a plancha and cooked in a traditional Basque stew.

Bluefin tuna has red flesh.

Grilled Albacore Tuna with Garlic-Crumb Topping
Bonito del Norte a la Plancha con Migas

Grilled tuna has a crispy topping of garlicky breadcrumbs.

 The bonito steaks can be grilled on a plancha, over coals (a la parilla) or baked in the oven. If baking the fish, mix the crumb topping ingredients and spread them on top of the fish without first sautéing them.

4 (6-ounce) albacore steaks, about 1-inch thick
Salt and pepper
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Thyme
1 small red chile, minced
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/3 cup chopped parsley
Coarse salt

Sprinkle the fish steaks with salt and pepper and allow to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Brush them with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil.

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a small skillet. Add the garlic, thyme and chile. Sauté until the garlic begins to turn golden. Add the lemon zest and bread crumbs. Toss the crumbs in the oil until they are golden and crisped. Remove from heat and stir in the parsley.

Ridged grill pan marks the steaks.

Heat a ridged grill pan on high heat. Brush the grill with remaining oil and sprinkle it with coarse salt. Place the bonito steaks on the grill. Cook 2 minutes and turn the steaks a quarter turn (in order to get cross-hatch grill marks). Grill 2 minutes longer. Flip the steaks and cook the reverse side in the same manner.

Remove to a platter and spread the garlic-crumbs on top of the steaks.

Basque Albacore Tuna and Potato Stew
Marmitako  

Chunks of white tuna simmer in a flavorful sauce with potatoes.

Marmitako—from the word marmite, a cooking pot—was traditionally made aboard Basque fishing trawlers. Originally, it was a stew of bonito boiled with bread and a chunk of salt pork. Once it became part of home cooking, potatoes, peppers and olive oil became standard ingredients.

This recipe is  based on one in Cocina Vasca en Bizkaia, by Jesús Llona Larrauri, Garbiñe Badiola and the Escuela Superior Hostelería Artxanda. It substitutes roasted red bell pepper for the usual pimiento choricero, a dry red pepper that has to be soaked and scraped.  Typically, the potatoes are not cut with a knife, but broken into uneven pieces. Insert knife tip into the potato, twist it to break off a chunk. The broken surfaces release starch that helps to thicken the stew.

A frugal home cook would use the bones and trimmings of the bonito to make a simple fish stock. (Cook the trimmings in 4 cups of water with salt and a slice of onion.) Use any fish stock or, simply, water.

Marmitako--a Basque dish of white tuna, potatoes and peppers.

1 ½ pounds bonito
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 ounce chopped bacon (optional)
1 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes
¼ cup white wine
1 bay leaf
2 pounds potatoes, cut up
1 roasted and peeled red bell pepper, pureed
Pinch of hot pimentón (optional)
2 ½- 3 cups fish stock or water
Chopped parsley to serve

Remove all skin and bones from the bonito. Cut the fish into 1 ½-inch chunks. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper and set aside, refrigerated.

Heat the oil in a lidded cazuela or skillet with the bacon, if using. Add the green pepper, onion and garlic and sauté gently 5 minutes. Turn up the heat and add the tomatoes. Fry them until they begin to thicken and stick on the pan bottom. Add the wine and let it cook off.

Add the potatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and the bay leaf. Put the pepper pulp and hot pimentón, if using, on top of the potatoes and pour over enough stock or water to nearly cover the potatoes.  Bring to a boil, cover and turn down the heat so the liquid just simmers. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Add the chunks of bonito. Cook until fish is just cooked, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the stew to set for 10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley.