Papas con Choco Gaditanas

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy casserole or Dutch oven, 4 to 5 litres
• •Sharp chef's knife
• •Box grater
• •Wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the cuttlefish

   Pat the cleaned cuttlefish dry and cut the body and tentacles into even 3cm pieces. Finely chop the onion, green pepper, and garlic, then grate the tomatoes through the large holes of a box grater, discarding the skins. Keep the potatoes whole and unpeeled for now so they don't sit in water and lose the starch the stew needs.

   Ask the fishmonger to remove the cuttlebone, innards, ink sac, eyes, and beak, but keep the tentacles. To finish with 900g cleaned, buy roughly 1.3kg whole cuttlefish.
2. 2

   Build the sofrito

   Warm the olive oil in a wide, heavy casserole over medium-low heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and 3g of the salt. Cook for 18 to 22 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the vegetables are very soft, dark gold at the edges, and nearly jammy. Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Keep the heat patient. A rushed sofrito stays pale and leaves the whole pot tasting thin.

3. 3

   Cook down the tomato

   Add the grated tomato and cook over medium-low heat for 10 to 12 minutes. Stir often until its raw smell has gone, the mixture is thick enough to leave a clear trail across the bottom, and the oil begins to show around the edges. Take the casserole off the heat, stir in the pimentón and oregano for 20 seconds, then return it to the stove. Pimentón burns quickly and turns bitter, so don't leave it alone over direct heat.

4. 4

   Add the choco

   Raise the heat to medium-high and fold in the cuttlefish. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will release a good deal of liquid before that liquid cooks back down. Wait until the pieces are opaque and the sofrito clings to them again. Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom of the casserole. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sharp smell of alcohol has gone.

5. 5

   Braise until yielding

   Add the bay leaf and 700ml of the hot water. Bring the pot to a lively simmer, then lower the heat and partially cover it. Cook for 20 minutes. The cuttlefish should be beginning to yield when pierced but still feel a little firm, because it has another stretch of cooking ahead. If it is still rubbery, give it 5 to 10 minutes more before adding the potatoes.

6. 6

   Crack in the potatoes

   Peel the potatoes. Cut each one by pushing the knife partway through, then levering the piece away so it breaks with a rough face. This is chascar las papas, cracking the potatoes. Add them with 5g more salt and enough of the reserved hot water to leave them barely covered. Those ragged edges release starch and bind the broth; neat cubes don't do the same job.

   Pésalo, no lo adivines. Keep the pieces close to 4cm so their centres soften at the same time their edges begin to break.
7. 7

   Thicken the guiso

   Simmer the potatoes uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, keeping the bubbling steady but not violent. Shake the casserole by its handles once or twice instead of stirring hard, which would break every potato. The guiso is ready when a knife enters the potatoes without resistance, the cuttlefish is tender, and the liquid coats a spoon. If it remains thin, crush two potato pieces against the side and stir them through gently.

8. 8

   Rest and serve

   Remove the bay leaf and take the casserole off the heat. Rest it uncovered for 10 minutes; the potatoes continue releasing starch and the liquor settles into a thick, glossy sauce. Taste and add up to the remaining 2g salt as needed. If it has tightened too far, loosen it with one or two spoonfuls of hot water. Serve in deep bowls with bread for the sauce. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.

Chef Tips

• •Choose cuttlefish with firm, glossy flesh and a clean sea smell. Frozen cleaned cuttlefish is reliable here because freezing softens its dense fibres slightly. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator, drain it, and pat it dry before weighing.
• •No cuttlefish where you live? Use 900g cleaned large squid, not breaded calamari rings. It gives a milder, sweeter pot and can soften sooner, so start testing it after 10 minutes of the first covered simmer.
• •Use an all-purpose potato that softens without collapsing at once. Monalisa is common in Spain; Yukon Gold is a sound substitute abroad. A very waxy potato leaves the liquor thin, while a baking potato can disappear before the cuttlefish is tender.
• •Use a dry, unoaked white wine. A fino or manzanilla from the Cádiz area gives the stew a saline edge, but an ordinary dry white works. Sweet cooking wine does not.
• •When good fresh tomatoes aren't in the market, use 250g canned whole tomatoes, drained and crushed. This is a cooked sofrito, so a ripe canned tomato is better than a hard, pale fresh one.
• •Water is enough because the cuttlefish makes its own broth. If you use fish stock, keep it light and unsalted; a strong stock smothers the sweet, clean taste of the choco.
• •Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them within 2 days. Reheat slowly with a splash of water. The flavour deepens overnight, though the potatoes become softer.

Advance Preparation

• •The sofrito can be cooked through the tomato stage up to 2 days ahead. Cool it promptly, cover, and refrigerate, then warm it before adding the pimentón and cuttlefish.
• •Clean and cut the cuttlefish up to 1 day ahead. Keep it covered in the coldest part of the refrigerator and pat it dry before cooking.
• •The finished stew can be made 1 day ahead and reheated gently, but hold back 100ml extra water because the potatoes continue absorbing the sauce as they rest. Do not freeze it; thawed potatoes turn grainy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 480g)