Vatapá (Brazilian Shrimp Stew)

By CheeseDiva

Ingredients

• 6 oz. dried salt cod
• 1/2 cup small dried shrimp
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1/4 cup plain, unsalted peanuts
• 3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 2 dried chiles de arbol, stemmed
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 1″-piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise
• 5 oz. white country bread, thinly sliced
• 1 14-oz. can coconut milk
• 1/2 cup dende (palm oil)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 canned whole peeled tomatoes, crushed by hand
• 3 cups fish stock
• 8 oz. raw medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Cooked rice, for serving

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from saveur.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Place cod in a 2-qt. saucepan; cover by 2″ with cold water. Boil for 20 minutes; drain. Repeat process twice more; finely shred and set aside. Purée dried shrimp, cashews, peanuts, scallions, chiles, garlic and ginger in a food processor; set shrimp paste aside. Combine bread and coconut milk in a food processor; let sit for 20 minutes. Purée; set bread paste aside.

2. Heat oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook until soft, about 13 minutes. Add shrimp paste; cook for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes; cook until broken down, about 6 minutes. Add cod, bread paste, and stock; boil. Reduce heat to medium; cook until reduced by one quarter, about 30 minutes. Add shrimp; cook until shrimp are pink and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; serve with rice.