By Amanda Aragão (*)
Who doesn’t love seafood? And what about having it immersed in a hot and tasty stew. This recipe originally from Portugal later won over Brazil and the world.
Top tip – the seafood should be prepared fresh, preferably, and the cooking time should be respected, as the seafood can easily become rubbery if you cook it too much.
Ingredients
• 600 g of snapper, sea bass (or the fish of your choice) cut into cubes
• 400 g of clean medium-sized shrimp
• 300g of lobster cut into cubes
• 200g of mussels
• 400g squid cut into rings
• 4 medium potatoes cut into cubes
• 2 ripe tomatoes cut into slices
• 2 medium onions cut into slices
• ½ yellow pepper cut into slices
• ½ red bell pepper cut into slices
• 1 cube of fish broth
• Lemon to wash the seafood
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of palm oil (dendê oil)
• 3 large garlic cloves
• 200ml of coconut milk
• 100ml dry white wine
• 250ml of water
• Coriander to taste
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 Dedo de moca pepper
• Pre-cleaned and cooked crab legs (optional)
How to prepare
1. Clean the seafood and wash with lemon juice. Then chop a clove of garlic, add black pepper and season them. Set aside.
2. Cook the potatoes and set them aside.
3. On medium heat, heat a large saucepan and sauté the onions, garlic, mussels and then add the white wine. Let it boil for about 3 (three) minutes. Add the tomatoes and the yellow and red peppers, then the water and the cube of fish stock. Let it boil.
4. Add the coconut milk, the pre-cooked potatoes, the fish, the squid rings, the crab legs and cook for 3 (three) minutes. Add the lobsters and shrimps and simmer for another 2 minutes. Add the palm oil and get the amount of salt just right.
5. Finish with the finely chopped parsley. Garnish with the red pepper on top. Cover the pan. It is ready to serve!
ANOTHER GOOD TIP
When buying the fish, if you are buying an entire fish, check its quality. It is easy to tell if the fish is fresh – the eyes should be bright and shiny. Check the gills, they should be bright pink/red and wet, not viscous or dry. The skin should be whole, without any wounds, and shiny, and the scales should be firm and homogeneous. What’s more, the smell must be neutral and pleasant.
Enjoy your meal!
*Amanda Aragão is a graduate of the Culinary Arts George Brown College (Toronto). She now lives in Brazil working in the food industry.
