Humble caldo pimentón may well be one of the dishes that best defines the character of traditional Almería cooking. Its base broth underpins a wide variety of dishes, such as gurullos (small pasta), cazuela de fideos (noodle stew), gachas or pimentón de Almería.
Fishing neighbourhoods know all about the clever, tasty use of the basic ingredients in this recipe. Today we share the version of caldo pimentón that was made for many years at Restaurante Juan Moreno.
You probably have most of the ingredients at home, and the rest are easy to find. You can use many other white fish instead of monkfish, although monkfish is our favourite for this recipe. Shellfish such as prawns and molluscs such as clams also work well with caldo pimentón.
Ingredients for caldo pimentón
- 1 monkfish of about 900 g
- 500 g potatoes
- 1 onion
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 dried peppers
- 3 garlic cloves
- Extra virgin olive oil
- A pinch of cumin
- Saffron
- 2 roasted peppers
Make a stock with the monkfish head and bones. Cook the peeled, chopped potatoes in this stock. Add the boned fish cut into pieces, the dried peppers, the onion and a little salt. In a mortar, crush the garlic, cumin, saffron, the dried peppers (after they have cooked for 15 minutes) and a few pieces of potato to thicken the broth. Add this paste to the stew. Add the peeled, chopped roasted peppers to the pot and cook for a couple of minutes. Adjust the salt and serve hot.
Roasted peppers are a common preserve in supermarkets, but you can also make them in your oven at home. Choose fleshy peppers, rub them lightly with olive oil, season them and roast them in the middle of an oven preheated to 180 °C for about 40 minutes, turning them once or twice. Let them cool before removing the skin and seeds. It’s worth keeping the juices they release.
