Name: Chicken Vatapa
Yield: Makes 10 Servings
Cuisine: Brazil
Ingredients: 6 medium-size tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, or 3 cups canned, seeded and drained, chopped; 2 Jalapeño chilies, seeded and finely chopped; 3-½ cups chicken broth; ¼ cup safflower oil; ½ cup dried shrimp (optional); cayenne pepper or Tabasco sauce; ¾ cup roasted peanuts; 1 3-pound chicken, quartered; 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar; 2 cups fresh coconut milk or 1 14-ounce can; ½ cup tightly packed cilantro leaves, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons; salt and pepper; 1 medium-size onion, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Preparation info

Makes
10
Servings

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Splendid Soups

By James Peterson

Published 2000

About

Although traditional Brazilian recipes usually describe chicken vatapa as a stew, this version is considerably lighter and makes an amazingly subtle and delicious soup. This recipe reflects my terrible weakness for coconut milk and is quite rich, but you can get by using half the coconut milk called for.

Traditional Brazilian recipes often call for dried shrimp, which, although certainly not essential, gives depth of flavor and a distinctive character to the soup.

Thi