Those who are fresh from a summer in the Algarve will be all too familiar with the cataplana – the smoky traditional Portuguese seafood stew. Named for the dish its cooked in, the seafood cataplana is equal parts comforting as it is fresh.
Restaurant Recipes: Seafood Cataplana from The Ninth
Words by
Sphere Editors
14th September 2026
As Charlotte Street’s finest, The Ninth, launches its new shellfish menu this week, Jun Tanaka, Chef Patron and Filippo Alessandri, Executive Chef, exclusively share their seafood cataplana recipe.
The Ninth's cataplana of clams, squid, Huelva prawns and monkfish. ©We The Food Snobs.
For the latest instalment of our restaurant recipe series, Jun Tanaka, Chef Patron of Mediterranean Charlotte Street darling, The Ninth, and Filippo Alessandri, Executive Chef, divulge their cataplana recipe, made with clams, squid, Huelva prawns and monkfish. Part of the restaurant's new shellfish menu, which showcases a single ingredient at its seasonal peak, it's a symphonic seafood display that’s impressive but still perfectly replicable at home.
Ingredients
The Ninth's new shellfish menu. ©We The Food Snobs.
Cataplana sauce (around 15 portions)
- 8 shallots brunoise
- 5 wet garlic
- 700g roasted red peppers, chopped
- 2 fennel brunoise
- 400g passata
- 400ml white wine
- 3g smoked paprika
- 3L langoustine stock, not too reduced
- 500g chorizo, skin removed, chopped
Seafood (1 portion)
- 100g monkfish, brined for 15 minutes
- 100g clams
- 50g prepped squid, scored on the inside
- 2 red prawns, body peeled
Crispy Sicillian red prawns also on the new shellfish menu. ©We The Food Snobs.
Garnish (1 portion)
- 50g chickpeas
- 120g cataplana sauce
- Sea aster and basil to garnish
Method
The Ninth's caramelised scallops, pumpkin risotto and brown butter. ©We The Food Snobs.
For the cataplana sauce
- Pour olive oil into a pan, add the shallots and garlic, and sweat for five minutes
- Add the fennel and cook until it is completely soft
- Drain in a colander then return to the pan, adding the chorizo and cook it for 10 minutes
- Add the peppers, paprika and white wine, and reduce
- Add the passata and cook for another five minutes
- Then add the langoustine stock and bring this to a simmer for five minutes, being careful not to reduce it, before taking it off the heat
For the seafood
- Lightly oil the monkfish and grill for two minutes
- Separately, add the chickpeas and clams to thecataplana sauce and bring to a simmer, being careful not to reduce
- Once the clams open, place the monkfish in the pan and cover with a lid, leave to rest for five minutes
- Separately, lightly oil the prawns and squid, and grill for two minutes. Remove from heat and sauté the sea aster
To serve
- Cut the monkfish in half and place in a bowl. Spoon the cataplana sauce and seafood around the monkfish, and garnish with the sea aster and basil
