Soup Vatapá

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried shrimp (see notes)
• 2 -3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/4 jalapeano chili pepper, chopped
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 cup stock or 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup natural-style peanut butter
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1/4 cup dend oil (optional)

Recipe

• 1 1.place the onion, dried shrimp, garlic and chilies in a food processor or blender and puree well. add a little water if necessary.
• 2 2.heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. add the onion-shrimp mixture and sauté until cooked through, about 5-7 minutes.
• 3 3.stir in the stock or water and whisk in the peanut or cashew butter until smooth. then stir in the breadcrumbs, salt and pepper. bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 5-8 minutes to meld the flavors.
• 4 4.stir in the shrimp and coconut milk and simmer another 5-6 minutes, or until shrimp is almost cooked through.
• 5 5.remove from heat, stir in the dendê oil and serve.
• 6 •vatapá de galinha: substitute 1 1/2 pounds of cooked, shredded chicken for the shrimp.
• 7 •vatapá de peixe: substitute 1 1/2 pounds of firm -fleshed fish, cut into chunks, for the shrimp.
• 8 •if you can't find dried shrimp, you can puree about 1 cup of fresh raw shrimp in a blender and substitute it for the dried.
• 9 •a truly authentic dish would use dendê, or palm oil, which gives the dish a bright yellow-orange tint. but dendê can be hard to find outside brazil. try adding 1 1/2 teaspoons of turmeric to the onion-shrimp paste instead.
• 10 •some recipes call for the addition of 1 tablespoon of fresh, minced ginger. others for 1-2 cups of chopped tomatoes.
• 11 •the breadcrumbs act as a thickener for the vatapá. some recipes use cornmeal instead. others thicken it like a gravy with flour.