Fish Purée with Coconut Milk

Name: Fish Purée with Coconut Milk (Vatapá)
Yield: Serves 6–8
Cuisine: Brazilian
Ingredients: sea salt and freshly ground pepper; 4 tablespoons tomato purée; 2 slices white bread with crusts removed, diced; 400 ml (14 fl oz) coconut milk; 450 ml (16 fl oz) prawn stock; 450 g (1 lb) halibut; 75 g (2¾ oz) unsalted roasted peanuts; 75 g (2¾ oz) unsalted roasted cashew nuts; a handful of chopped fresh coriander, to garnish; 2 tablespoons dendê (palm) oil; 675 g (1 lb 8 oz) uncooked prawns, peeled and deveined; 3 tablespoons dendê (palm) oil; ½ medium onion, diced; 4 plum tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and diced; 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice; ⅛ teaspoon turmeric; ⅛ teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika; 1 spring onion (white and green parts), chopped; 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon peeled and finely grated fresh root ginger, or ¼ teaspoon ground ginger

Vatapá

Preparation info

Serves
6–8

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Brazilian Kitchen

By Leticia Moreinos Schwartz

Published 2012

About

Vatapá is a classic dish from Brazil’s Bahia region. It is a purée of fish, bread, coconut milk, prawn stock, cashews, peanuts, onions, tomatoes, dendê oil, ginger and dried shrimp. The dried shrimp found outside Brazil carries more shell than meat and by the time it’s ground it becomes very gritty. So I make a version without it and it is just as delicious. In Brazil, vatapá is mostly used as a spread or a filling for acarajé (I use it as a dip). Here, I use it