Vatapa!

Vatapa! Brazilian Seafood Stew with Coconut, Nuts and Spices

A specialty of the Bahia region of Brazil, this dish, while having a lengthy list of ingredients, is pretty easy to actually make.  You can also make Vatapa with chicken or other meats.  Basically you prepare all the ingredients, cook and then puree them in a food processor, and then cook the seafood in the sauce.  What I liked about this dish was the variety of ingredients- coconut, nuts, ginger, coriander, dried shrimp, hot chilis, annotto-  all under native Brazilian, African, and Portuguese influence.  The flavors really come together to produce an exotic, yet familiar dish that is not-too-rich, but delicious!

Ingredients:

seafood: 2-4 lbs. of either shrimp, squid, scallops, monkfish, catfish, etc.
we used 1 lb shrimp, 1 lb scallops, and 1/2 lb squid

2 medium onions, chopped
2 T garlic, chopped
2 cups tomatoes- peeled and chopped or canned (although we only used one cup)
2-3 T fresh coriander, chopped

1.5-2 cups coconut milk
1/4-1/2 cup peanuts, lightly roasted
1/4 cup almonds, lightly roasted
1/4 cup cashews, lightly roasted
2-3 T dried shrimp
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
2 T fresh ginger, grated
1 t chopped fresh hot pepper, add more to taste as you go along
2 T palm oil, or vegetable oil with annotto or paprika
fresh coriander leaves for garnish, as well as lemon, salt and pepper

How to make: 
Clean all seafood, cutting into small 2-3 inch pieces. Slice cleaned squid into calamari rings, leave tentacles whole. Clean shrimp by removing shell and vein. Cut in half lengthwise if very large.

Sautee onions in the olive oil. Add garlic and sautee gently.  Add tomatoes and just a little water to make it thicker. Add coriander and salt to taste. Simmer 10 minutes and reserve.

Grind nuts and dried shrimp in a spice grinder or food processor. Combine in processor with coconut milk, bread, ginger, chili and the reserved mixture from above (yup, you put it all in). Puree.


Add more coconut milk or nuts to achieve desired creamy consistency. Simmer 10 minutes. It should be thicker than you will want it to be in the end. The seafood will give off enough liquid to thin it down.

Add the largest pieces of seafood to simmering stew first. When they are partially cooked, stir in the shrimp, then scalloped, then when almost done, add ssquid.  Be careful not to over cook. Add palm oil/ colored oil at the end, if desired. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, lemon juice and chilis. Sprinkle with fresh coriander leaves.

This can be prepared several hours ahead and reheated, and the base can be made ahead for up to 2 days (the flavors will even come out more likely). If it tightens up add more coconut milk or water to thin.


Serve over rice, with greens of choice (we steamed some broccolini).

The rents loved it!

Asian Appetizers- Superbowl Night!

Felt like having some fun and making some interesting apps for the Superbowl! I was going to bring it some for the gang, but ended up eating most of it at home. The coconut shrimp was fun and delicious- a nice fried, battery app that I was craving. Used "Ginger Peoples" sauce for dipping. Fresh roles were very good too- the fresh mint and basil were key here, and I could have used even more mango, but very refreshing and tasty. The chicken satay was excellent- a great marinade, and when you take a bite with the peanut sauce you are in heaven. We also made some Asian wings for the game- because what's a Superbowl without wings?


Fresh Rolls
Makes about 10 rolls

Ingredients:
round rice paper wrappers, available at Whole Foods or Asian markets
rice vermicelli noodles
a small/medium sized bowl of each:
1 thinly sliced mango
thinly julienned carrot
thinly sliced scallions
thinly sliced red peppers
cilantro, mint and basil
(optional) cooked shrimp

How to make:
Cook the noodles according to package. Lay out ingredients in bowls, including cooked noodles.  Optional cooked shrimp in another bowl.  Then have out a bowl of warm water that will soften the rice papers.  

Put paper in water for about ten seconds and then put on a plate, careful not to damage it too much.  To make a roll, put ingredients in center of roll and not too close to the edges.  Start with noodles and put in the rest of ingredients according to preference.  

To roll, fold in edges, then using thumbs and forefingers, roll one side toward the other, as if you were making a burrito.  Make it nice and tight.  If it breaks, just soften another wrapper and use that.


Coconut Shrimp
4 servings

ingredients:
1 lb. pealed and deveined shrimp
corn starch
eggs
dried coconut
dipping sauce- recommended Ginger Peoples “Sweet Ginger Chili” sauce

How to make:
Put out 3 bowls, one with ample corn starch, one with a beaten egg, and one with dried & sweetened coconut shreddings.  Dip the shrimp in corn starch, then the egg, then the coconut.  Be sure to cover the shrimp fully each time you dip.  It will become glue-like and will absorb the coconut.  Feel free to dip it again in the egg and then the coconut to make it an extra-crispy batter (recommended).

Heat a couple inches of vegetable oil in a large skillet on medium heat.  When the oil is hot, put a few shrimp on.  Turn over when the outside is brown and crispy.  Watch carefully because the sugar and the coconut make them burn.  


Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
4 servings,16 pieces of boneless chicken breast

Ingredients for Marinade:
2 T curry powder
2 T butter
1 cup coconut milk
1 t salt
1 t black pepper
1 t chopped garlic
1 T chopped coriander roots

Stir and let chicken sit in marinade for a few hours

Peanut Sauce:
¼ cup peanut butter (natural, no sugar added)
1 T maple syrup
2 T soy sauce or tamari
1 T rice vinegar
2 cloves crushed garlic
½ T red pepper flakes
about ¼ hot water to thin sauce

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or blender and mix well. May take some effort to dissolve all peanut butter into water, but eventually it will dissolve.

To Cook Satay:
Preheat broiler or grill.  Thread the strips of chicken on skewers and broil, turning until just done. Be careful not to overlook. Serve with peanut sauce.

Thai Green Curry

A light, healthy, incredibly tasty and easy Thai meal! It was so good I kept getting more servings. I loved the sauce-- light, sweet, coconutty-- and the way the taste of the lime leaves came out. It was so simple, but so good.


Green Curry with Chicken and Veggies over Rice
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1.5 pound chicken slice (we like a lot of chicken)
6 kaffir lime leaves
Vegetables of choice: bell pepper, spinach, onion, broccoli, eggplant, etc
We used orange peppers, spinach, onion, and broccolini on the side
Sauce:
6 T Green curry paste
14 0z. coconut milk
¼ cup fish sauce
2.5 T sugar

Combine chicken with sauce ingredients and bring to slow boil. Continue to simmer the chicken in the sauce until it has cooked (an interested method that makes the chicken surprisingly moist and tender) for about 8 min. 
Then add prepared vegetables and lime leaves, and finally garnish with basil before serving.  

Kale Salad
A delicious and healthy side for a meal. We like our kale. Can make many different varieties of kale salad.

How to make:
1 head of lachinato kale (AKA dinosaur kale)
Wash and thinly slice into thin ribbons, dry with salad spinner
Add 1 T olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of honey, and salt and pepper, then massage it in a bowl
Add toasted/ chopped nuts of choice, such as walnuts, almonds
We added spiced nuts, apples, and hemp seeds!