Spanish recipe

Marmitako

Name: Marmitako
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Spanish cuisine
Ingredients: 800 g bonito del norte or fresh tuna loin, cut into 3 cm cubes; 800 g waxy potatoes, peeled and broken into 4 cm chunks; 200 g yellow onion, finely chopped; 200 g green pepper, cut into 1 cm dice; 150 g roasted red pepper, peeled and drained; 300 g ripe tomatoes, finely chopped; 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 60 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 100 ml dry white wine; 1.2 L unsalted fish stock, kept hot; 4 g sweet Spanish paprika; 10 g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped; 8 g fine salt, divided

A Basque fishermen’s stew of meaty bonito or tuna, potatoes, peppers and tomato. The vegetables and potatoes cook first in fish stock; tuna is added only for the final few minutes so it stays juicy while potato starch gives the broth body.

Basque Country, Spain

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 1 hr 10 min
Servings: 4

Basque tuna and potato marmitako in lightly thickened red-golden broth — **Real finished-dish photograph**Photograph by Juan Emilio Prades BelSource page · Original file · CC BY-SA 4.0Cropped, resized, and compressed by Recipe Nest Vault.

Ingredients

800 g
bonito del norte or fresh tuna loin, cut into 3 cm cubes
800 g
waxy potatoes, peeled and broken into 4 cm chunks
200 g
yellow onion, finely chopped
200 g
green pepper, cut into 1 cm dice
150 g
roasted red pepper, peeled and drained
300 g
ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
2 cloves
garlic, finely chopped
60 ml
extra-virgin olive oil
100 ml
dry white wine
1.2 L
unsalted fish stock, kept hot
4 g
sweet Spanish paprika
10 g
flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
8 g
fine salt, divided

Method

01
Build the onion and pepper base
Heat 60 ml olive oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, green pepper and 2 g salt and cook 10–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very soft and sweet but only lightly coloured.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Cook the garlic, tomato and paprika
Add garlic and cook 45 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook 8 minutes until reduced. Stir in paprika for 15 seconds, pour in the 100 ml wine and simmer 3 minutes until the raw alcohol aroma fades.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Simmer the broken potatoes in stock
Add the 800 g potatoes and turn for 2 minutes to coat them. Pour in 1 L of the hot fish stock, reserving 200 ml, and add 3 g salt. Simmer gently uncovered for 18–22 minutes until the potatoes are almost tender. Crush two or three potato edges against the pot to give the broth light body.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Blend in the roasted red pepper
Blend the 150 g roasted red pepper with 100 ml of the reserved hot stock until smooth. Stir it into the stew and simmer 5 minutes. If the broth is thicker than a light stew, add the final 100 ml stock; taste and use the remaining 3 g salt only if needed.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Add the tuna only at the end
Lower the stew to the gentlest simmer and add the 800 g tuna cubes in one layer. Cook 4–5 minutes, turning once very carefully, until the outside is opaque and the thickest pieces reach 63°C. Remove from the heat immediately.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Rest briefly and finish with parsley
Rest the marmitako off the heat for 5 minutes so the tuna finishes gently in residual heat and the potato starch settles into the broth. Sprinkle with the 10 g parsley and serve hot without further boiling.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

Cook the potatoes until almost tender before adding fresh fish; the fish needs only a few minutes and should not simmer for the full stew time.
Break a few potato edges into the broth to thicken naturally while leaving most pieces intact.

Common mistakes

Boiling tuna or bonito hard makes it dry and chalky; add it at the end and cook at a gentle simmer.
Adding all liquid at once without judging the potatoes can leave a thin soup; keep extra stock hot and add only as needed.

Substitutions

Use another firm, meaty fresh tuna species if bonito del norte is unavailable; cut pieces to the same size and shorten cooking if they are leaner.
Jarred roasted red pepper can replace freshly roasted pepper; drain it well and choose one without sweet syrup.

Storage

Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours at 0–4°C for up to 3 days. Reheat only the portion needed until piping hot throughout.

Cultural context

Marmitako takes its name from the marmita, the cooking pot used by Basque tuna fishermen. It is a practical shipboard stew: potatoes stretch a catch of bonito into a substantial one-pot meal without requiring the fish to cook for long.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Marmitako de atún (España) — Photograph by Juan Emilio Prades Bel; CC BY-SA 4.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Spanish recipes

Marmitako

Ingredients

Method

Build the onion and pepper base

Cook the garlic, tomato and paprika

Simmer the broken potatoes in stock

Blend in the roasted red pepper

Add the tuna only at the end

Rest briefly and finish with parsley

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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