History and origin
The coastal broth, hot, nourishing and ever-changing
Caldo de pescado is a broad title: it names a broth cooked with fish, not a single formula. On the Almería coast, these soups belong to a domestic cooking that makes the most of the day's catch. Potatoes, tomato, garlic, pimentón or roasted peppers thicken and perfume an orange-hued liquid in which mackerel, sardines, boquerones or other local fish simmer.
The province's official guide lists the caldo and the escabechado de pescado among the traditions of the coastal towns. A more precise preparation, the caldo de pimentón, is documented in Vera and joins fish, potato and pepper; other family recipes add a poached egg. These versions speak to one another, but they must not be fused into an artificially canonical recipe.
The page can therefore tell of an Almería fisherman's broth while announcing its variability. It is not necessarily a clear fumet nor a luxurious shellfish soup: the fish stays identifiable, the vegetables nourish, and the very hot serving suits cool or rainy days. For Alhama, the anchoring must remain provincial — the sources place these customs chiefly on the shoreline.
