Marmitako (Basque Tuna and Potato Stew)

Ingredients

• 600 g tuna steak, skinned and cut into 3 cm cubes
• 800 g potato, peeled
• 2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tomato, halved and coarsely grated
• 3 garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 fresh chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 7 dl fish stock, hot
• 1 dl white wine
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Method

1. 1.

   Build the sofrito — Heat the olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions, both peppers and the garlic with a good pinch of salt and cook gently for about 12 minutes, stirring now and then, until everything has collapsed and turned sweet without taking on colour.

2. 2.

   Add tomato and paprika — Stir in the grated tomato and the chopped chilli and cook for 5 minutes more, until the mixture darkens and no longer smells raw. Pull the pot off the heat and stir in the smoked paprika so it dissolves in the oil without scorching.

3. 3.

   Crack in the potatoes — Crack the potatoes rather than slicing them: push the knife 2 cm in and twist so the piece tears away. The ragged faces release starch and that is what thickens the stew. Add them to the pot and turn them in the sofrito for a minute.

4. 4.

   Simmer in wine and stock — Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for a minute, then add the hot fish stock so the potatoes are just covered. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes, until a knife slides into a potato with no resistance and the broth has thickened around them.

5. 5.

   Poach the tuna off the heat — Season the tuna cubes with salt and pepper and slide them into the pot in a single layer. Turn off the heat at once, cover, and let the residual heat poach the fish for 3-4 minutes — the cubes should still be faintly rosy at the centre.

6. 6.

   Finish with parsley and rest — Scatter over the parsley, taste the broth for salt, and let the pot rest for 5 minutes before serving in deep bowls with plenty of bread.