Meet the cataplana - slow food at its best

Sunday, 21 February 2010 00:00

The Algarve's copper cataplana slow cooker is unique. This pan is hammered in a handmade tradition - Its clamshell-like broad domed shaped dish is hinged together. Now, a new cookbook is about to be launched to help everyone try the secrets of Algarve cooking. The Cataplana Experience Cookbook designed to highlight this cooking utensil that is unique to Portuguese cuisine. The food is placed in the bottom half of the cataplana and then simmered together to help the flavors to grow. The cataplana was introduced to the southern Portugal region during the Moorish occupation in the 8th century AD. The cataplana is meant to be a steaming pan and is much suited for the many shellfish such as clams and mussels that are available along the southern coastal region. The ingredients are placed in the bottom half of the dish and the hinged lid is then closed, enabling the food to simmer together and the flavors developed during cooking. These days the pan has a much wider usage. Already used by many chefs, the cataplana makes it possible to cook seafood, fish, vegetables, meat, and even desserts, in a healthy and flavorsome manner. Classic and popular aspects of the Algarve cuisine. Xerém (cornmeal) and Cataplana dishes, fish and seafood, lamb or pork, oranges or the regional sweets and desserts are just some of the products visitor can taste around the Algarve.