Marmitako

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Marmitako (from marmita, the cooking pot) is the Basque tuna fisherman’s stew — originally prepared aboard the bonito-hunting vessels that pursued Atlantic bluefin and skipjack tuna from the port of Saint-Jean-de-Luz during the summer campaigns. The dish is a one-pot preparation that transforms the most basic shipboard ingredients into something deeply satisfying. The base is a sofregit of onions and garlic in olive oil, to which diced potatoes (cut in irregular chunks that release starch to thicken the broth naturally), chopped sweet green peppers (piparrak), and tomato concessée are added. Water or a light fish fumet covers the vegetables, which simmer for 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are tender and beginning to break at the edges. The tuna (bonito del norte or thon blanc, cut in 3cm chunks) is added for the final 5-6 minutes only — at this point, the broth is rich from the dissolved potato starch and aromatic from the peppers. The tuna must remain rose in the center (55-58°C internal) — overcooked tuna becomes dry and mealy, destroying the dish. Piment d’Espelette is added generously at the end, along with flat-leaf parsley. The marmitako should be thick and chunky — more stew than soup — with pieces of tuna visible among the broken potatoes and peppers. It is served in deep bowls with crusty bread. The French Basque version differs from the Spanish in its use of piment d’Espelette rather than choricero pepper, and in a lighter, less tomatoey broth that lets the tuna speak more clearly.

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