VATAPÁ

A delicious seafood dish from Brazil. One with Portuguese and African influence in the Brazilian cuisine. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

1 cup dried tiny shrimp (They are really small shrimp. You can get them in Asian stores or in good supermarkets. They have a very strong flavor. If you cannot get them, you can make your Vatapá without them. With the dried shrimp you will get a strong Vatapá; without them, a lighter one)

½ chopped onion

1 cayenne chili pepper, chopped (with the seeds if you want a hot Vatapá, and without seeds if you want something lighter)

1 clove of garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon pimentón

Some extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons grated coconut

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup crushed tomato

3 tablespoons bread crumbs

2 tablespoons peanut butter

15 big shrimp, peeled

1 desalted cod filet, chopped

Some cilantro, dried or fresh

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

You should start soaking the dried shrimp in hot water. Soak them for about 20 minutes. Then rinse them well and chop them. Reserve them.

Heat some oil in a pan. Not too much, just a couple of tablespoons. Then, when it is hot, sauté the onion. Add the chili pepper and the garlic one minute later. Add the pimentón, but be careful so that it does not get burned. Next add the dried shrimp. Then add the grated coconut, the coconut milk and the tomato. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for about ten minutes.

In the meantime, using another pan, sauté the shrimp in some hot oil, just one tablespoon of oil.

Once the shrimp are done, reserve them and sauté the cod in the same way. Just a couple of minutes.

Now we will add the bread crumbs and the peanut butter to the pan. Mix well and keep on simmering it.

Finally, add the shrimp and the cod to the pan. Mix well and let it simmer for a couple of minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. The last touch is adding the cilantro. If you have it fresth, the better. It can be served with cooked rice.

A delicious recipe, different but really good. Cook it! Enjoy!

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HOLLOW POTATOES

A different recipe. Potatoes in an interesting approach. Popular in some parts of Spain, but not everywhere. Now you can cook them. Let’s cook.

Ingredients:

2 potatoes

2 eggs

3 tablespoons flour

1 bay leaf

Some salt to taste

Some freshly ground black pepper, to taste

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon turmeric

Some extra virgin oilve oil

To start, wash and peel the potatoes. Cut them in pieces. Then boil them in water with a bit of salt the bay leaf. Once the potatoes are done, rinse them in cold water. Remove the bay leaf. Mix the potatoes with the eggs. Add the flour and mash everything well. Add the baking powder and some salt and black pepper. I like to add some turmeric. Just to add a bit of colour. We must get a mixture to make like a sort of croquettes later.

If it is needed, you can add more flour, but do it little by little anyway. When you have the mixture, let it rest for 15 minutes.

Then, with the help of a wooden spoon, shape the potato croquettes. Heat some oil in a pan and when it is hot, fry the Hollow Potatoes. Some minutes on one side, some minutes on the other side.

If you want, you can add some herbs to the mixture, but do not overuse herbs. Serve hot. You can serve them as a tapa or as a side. They are different and delicious. Enjoy!

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