Chef Isabel
All Cremat de Vilanova
All Cremat de Vilanova is Catalan boat cooking: garlic taken dark in olive oil, then tomato, fish stock, and firm fish, no potato, just a broth with nerve.
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Sorropotún Cántabro
Created by
Sorropotún is Cantabria's fisherman stew from San Vicente de la Barquera: bonito del norte, snapped potatoes, onion, pepper, tomato, and a broth thickened by the potato itself.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Comfort Food
One Pot
Budget Friendly
20 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield4 servings
Sorropotún is Cantabrian, from San Vicente de la Barquera, and it is bonito and potato cooked like a working harbour knows how to cook it: plain, filling, and exact where it matters. It is close kin to marmitako, yes, but this belongs to Cantabria, with the potato snapped into the pot so its starch thickens the broth around the fish.
The step that decides it is the potato. Don't cut it cleanly all the way through. Cut halfway, then crack it loose with the knife, chascar la patata, so the rough edge gives body to the broth. A neat cube stays polite and separate. A snapped potato helps make the stew.
Use bonito del norte in season if you can, firm and fresh, and add it only at the end. It needs minutes, not punishment. Far from Cantabria, use albacore tuna if it is fresh and good, or a firm tuna steak at a pinch, but know it will be a little leaner and less sweet. No hace falta haber pisado España. You need good fish, a slow sofrito, the onion-and-pepper base, and the sense to stop cooking before the bonito dries out.
In my Margin beside this one I wrote: "fish last." That is the whole warning. Build the broth, cook the potatoes tender, turn off the heat, and let the bonito finish gently in the pot. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Sorropotún belongs to the Cantabrian coast, especially San Vicente de la Barquera, where bonito del norte was cooked aboard and ashore with potatoes, peppers, onion, and what the boat kitchen could carry. It is part of the northern family of tuna stews that includes Basque marmitako and Asturian marmita, but each coast keeps its own name and hand. In San Vicente, the dish is tied to the town's fishing identity and to the summer bonito season, when the fish is landed firm, clean, and worth cooking simply.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bonito del norte or fresh albacore tuna
Quantity
700g
skin and bloodline removed, cut into 3cm pieces
waxy potatoes
Quantity
800g
peeled and snapped into chunks
onion
Quantity
1 large
finely chopped
green pepper
Quantity
1
finely chopped
red pepper
Quantity
1
finely chopped
garlic
Quantity
2 cloves
minced
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
250g
grated
choricero pepper pulp
Quantity
1 tablespoon
or 1 teaspoon sweet pimentón
dry white wine
Quantity
100ml
fish stock
Quantity
900ml
hot
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
60ml
bay leaf
Quantity
1
salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
flat-leaf parsley (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
chopped
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bonito del norte or fresh albacore tunaskin and bloodline removed, cut into 3cm pieces | 700g |
| waxy potatoespeeled and snapped into chunks | 800g |
| onionfinely chopped | 1 large |
| green pepperfinely chopped | 1 |
| red pepperfinely chopped | 1 |
| garlicminced | 2 cloves |
| ripe tomatoesgrated | 250g |
| choricero pepper pulpor 1 teaspoon sweet pimentón | 1 tablespoon |
| dry white wine | 100ml |
| fish stockhot | 900ml |
| extra virgin olive oil | 60ml |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| salt | to taste |
| black pepper | to taste |
| flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped | 2 tablespoons |
Equipment Needed
- •Wide heavy pot or cazuela, 28 to 30cm
- •Sharp small knife for snapping potatoes
- •Box grater for tomato
Instructions
- 1
Salt the bonito
Pat the bonito dry, cut it into 3cm pieces, and season it lightly with salt. Keep it in the refrigerator while you build the stew. This fish goes in last; if it boils with the potatoes, it turns dry and woolly, and nobody asked for that.
- 2
Cook the sofrito
Warm the olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the onion, green pepper, red pepper, and a pinch of salt, and cook for 18 to 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft, dark gold at the edges, and sweet. Add the garlic for the last minute. This slow sofrito, the onion-and-pepper base, is where the broth gets its sweetness; rush it and the stew tastes thin.
Keep the heat low enough that the vegetables soften before they brown hard. A little colour is good. Scorched pepper is bitter. - 3
Add tomato
Stir in the grated tomato and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid has mostly gone and the oil begins to show at the edges. Add the choricero pepper pulp, or sweet pimentón if that is what you have, and stir for 30 seconds. Do not let pimentón burn; it turns harsh quickly.
- 4
Snap the potatoes
Cut halfway into each potato piece with the knife, then lever the chunk loose so it cracks with a rough edge, chascar la patata. Add the snapped potatoes to the pot and turn them through the sofrito for 2 minutes. Pésalo, no lo adivines, and snap them too; those broken edges are what thicken the broth without flour.
- 5
Simmer the potatoes
Pour in the white wine and let it bubble for 1 minute. Add the hot fish stock and bay leaf, then bring the pot to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 22 to 28 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the broth has thickened enough to coat a spoon lightly. Taste for salt only after the stock has settled into the potatoes.
- 6
Finish with bonito
Turn the heat to low, add the bonito pieces in one layer, and press them just under the surface. Cook 2 minutes, then turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let it stand 5 minutes. The fish should be just opaque in the centre and still juicy. If your pieces are smaller, start checking sooner.
- 7
Rest and serve
Remove the bay leaf, grind in a little black pepper, and shake the pot gently by the handles so the broth and potato starch come together. Rest 5 minutes before serving in deep bowls, with parsley if you like it. Bread on the table is not decoration here; it is for the broth.
Chef Tips
- •Bonito del norte is the fish you want when it is in season, firm, fresh, and clean-smelling. Far from Cantabria, fresh albacore is the right substitute. Yellowfin works only if it is very fresh and cut thick, but it is leaner, so be stricter with the final cooking.
- •Do not use canned tuna for sorropotún. Canned bonito is good food, but this stew depends on fresh fish poaching gently in the finished broth. Use canned bonito for a salad or empanada and keep this pot for the season.
- •Use a waxy potato that holds shape but still gives starch at the broken edge. Yukon Gold works well abroad. Floury potatoes collapse too fast and make the broth grainy before the fish ever arrives.
- •A fish stock made from white fish bones, onion, parsley stems, and a little leek is enough. Keep it light. A dark, roasted stock bullies the bonito, and the stew stops tasting of the Cantabrian coast.
- •Leftovers are good but delicate. Reheat over the lowest heat and stop as soon as the broth is hot, because the bonito will keep cooking. If the stew thickens overnight, loosen it with a splash of water or light fish stock.
Advance Preparation
- •The sofrito can be cooked up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated. Bring it back to a gentle heat before adding the potatoes.
- •Fish stock can be made 2 days ahead and kept chilled, or frozen for up to 2 months.
- •Do not add the bonito ahead of time. Cook the stew through the potatoes, pause there if needed, then add the fish just before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 700g)
Calories
585 calories
Total Fat
22 g
Saturated Fat
4 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
17 g
Cholesterol
70 mg
Sodium
870 mg
Total Carbohydrates
50 g
Dietary Fiber
7 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
48 g
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