Chef Isabel
All Cremat de Vilanova
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Caldillo de Perro Gaditano
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Caldillo de perro is from the Bay of Cadiz: hake or whiting in a clear garlic and onion broth, finished with sour orange so the fish stays clean and bright.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
One Pot
15 min
Active Time
30 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings
Caldillo de perro is Gaditano, from El Puerto de Santa Maria and the Bay of Cadiz, and it is not a thick fish stew. It is a clear fishermen's soup: onion, garlic, olive oil, white fish, parsley, and the juice of a bitter Seville orange. The name sounds like a joke, and it is a little one. There is no dog in it, only a poor kitchen making good sense of fresh fish and sour fruit.
The method that decides it is gentleness. Cook the onion and garlic slowly in olive oil until soft and sweet, but don't brown them. Then simmer the fish only until it flakes. If you boil it hard, the broth clouds and the hake turns dry, and the whole point of the dish is gone. This is cocina de cuchara, spoon food, but light enough for the coast.
If you can't find naranja amarga, bitter Seville orange, use mostly orange juice with a little lemon juice. It won't have quite the same floral bitterness, but it gives the sharp lift the soup needs. Add it off the heat or at the table, never let it boil. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Caldillo de perro belongs to El Puerto de Santa Maria and the fishing towns of the Bay of Cadiz, where small hake, whiting, and other white fish were cooked plainly in broth after the market's best pieces had gone elsewhere. The sour orange is the mark of the dish, tied to the bitter oranges common in Andalusian patios and streets, and it cuts the oil and fish without making the soup heavy. Its odd name is part of the local record: a humble broth with a teasing title, kept alive because it fed people well and asked for very little.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
hake or whiting fillets
Quantity
600g
skin removed, cut into 5cm pieces
large onion
Quantity
1, about 250g
thinly sliced
garlic cloves
Quantity
4
thinly sliced
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
60ml
bay leaf
Quantity
1
water or light fish stock
Quantity
1 litre
fine sea salt
Quantity
8g, plus more to taste
fresh parsley
Quantity
30g
leaves chopped, stems reserved
bitter Seville orange
Quantity
1, about 60ml juice
juiced
sweet orange plus lemon juice (optional)
Quantity
1 small orange plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
juiced
day-old country bread (optional)
Quantity
4 slices
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| hake or whiting filletsskin removed, cut into 5cm pieces | 600g |
| large onionthinly sliced | 1, about 250g |
| garlic clovesthinly sliced | 4 |
| extra virgin olive oil | 60ml |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| water or light fish stock | 1 litre |
| fine sea salt | 8g, plus more to taste |
| fresh parsleyleaves chopped, stems reserved | 30g |
| bitter Seville orangejuiced | 1, about 60ml juice |
| sweet orange plus lemon juice (optional)juiced | 1 small orange plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice |
| day-old country bread (optional) | 4 slices |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy pot or cazuela, 28cm
- •Fine grater or citrus juicer
- •Fish spatula or wide spoon
Instructions
- 1
Salt the fish
Pat the hake dry and season it with 3g of the salt. Leave it on a plate while you start the broth. This short rest firms the surface just enough so the fish holds together in the pot.
Use hake if you can. Whiting, cod, haddock, or pollock will do, but choose thick pieces and cut them large so they don't fall apart. - 2
Soften the base
Warm the olive oil in a wide pot over low heat. Add the onion, garlic, bay leaf, parsley stems, and the remaining 5g salt. Cook gently for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft, pale gold, and sweet. Do not brown it; this broth wants sweetness, not toast.
- 3
Build the broth
Add the water or light fish stock and bring it to a quiet simmer. Cook for 8 minutes so the onion gives itself to the broth. Taste for salt now, before the fish goes in, because later you should touch the pot as little as possible.
- 4
Poach the fish
Lower the hake pieces into the simmering broth in one layer. Keep the heat low, with only small bubbles at the edges, and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on thickness, until the fish just flakes when nudged. No hard boiling. A rough boil breaks the fish and muddies the clean broth.
- 5
Finish with orange
Take the pot off the heat. Remove the bay leaf and parsley stems. Stir in the bitter orange juice and most of the chopped parsley, or use the sweet orange and lemon mix if that's what you have. Taste once more. The broth should be clear, garlicky, gently oily, and sharp at the finish.
- 6
Serve at once
Set a slice of day-old bread in each bowl if you like, then ladle the fish and broth over it. Scatter with the remaining parsley and put extra bitter orange or lemon-orange mix on the table. Serve immediately, while the fish is tender and the broth still tastes fresh.
Chef Tips
- •The fish decides the soup. Buy hake or whiting that smells clean and faintly of the sea, never strong. Frozen hake is better than tired fresh fish, but thaw it fully and pat it dry before salting.
- •Bitter Seville orange is traditional here. If you can't find it, mix 45ml sweet orange juice with 15ml lemon juice. The flavour is less bitter and a little simpler, but it keeps the Gaditano sharpness the soup needs.
- •Do not boil the orange juice. Add it off the heat or let each person squeeze it into the bowl. Boiled citrus turns dull and the clear broth loses its lift.
- •Bread is optional, but very much at home. A slice of day-old country bread in the bowl turns the broth into a fuller meal without changing the dish.
Advance Preparation
- •The onion and garlic base can be cooked up to 1 day ahead and chilled. Add the water, fish, and orange only when you are ready to serve.
- •The soup is best eaten as soon as the fish is poached. Leftovers keep 1 day, but reheat very gently and do not let the broth boil.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 330g)
Calories
335 calories
Total Fat
16 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
90 mg
Sodium
980 mg
Total Carbohydrates
27 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
31 g
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