The cataplana is both a dish and the pan it is cooked in: two hinged copper domes that clamp shut like a clam, sealing the food to steam in its own juices. It belongs to the Algarve, Portugal's southern coast, where the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve rises in the hills above Portimão. Opening it at the table, and releasing a gust of sea, garlic and coriander, is half of the pleasure.

Few home kitchens own a cataplana, and none is needed. A wide pot with a tight fitting lid does the same job, and the clams provide their own sense of theater by springing open on cue. The meeting of pork and shellfish is very Portuguese and very good: the chouriço seasons the broth, and the clams return the favor.

The clams and shrimp

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) small live clams
• 2 tablespoons fine salt
• 1 lb (450 g) large raw shrimp

Method

1. Dissolve the salt in a large bowl of cold water. Add the clams and leave them in the fridge for 30 minutes. Lift them out with your hands, leaving the sand behind, and rinse under cold water, scrubbing any muddy shells.

The tomato base and steaming

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (45 ml) extra virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 green bell pepper
• 4 garlic cloves
• 5 oz (140 g) chouriço
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 ripe medium tomatoes
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) dry white wine
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes or piri piri
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 1 lemon

Method

1. Heat the olive oil in the pot over medium heat. Add the onions and both peppers and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes. Add the garlic, chouriço, paprika and bay leaf and cook 3 minutes more.
2. Add the tomatoes, wine and red pepper flakes. Simmer uncovered for 8 minutes, stirring now and then.
3. Turn the heat to medium high. Lay the clams over the sauce, scatter over half the coriander, and close the lid tightly. Cook for 5 minutes without lifting the lid.
4. Lift the lid, tuck the shrimp in among the clams, close again and cook 3 to 4 minutes more.

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