Moqueca De Camarao

World Cup, Day 1 - Brazil

Moqueca De Camarao

Shrimp Stew

The World Cup is finally here! Four years of waiting and speculating culminates in a 32 day party of (hopefully) spectacular football. To celebrate this, I've decided to cook 32 different dishes inspired by one of the countries participating each evening. The research has been completed and my challenge began today with a dish from the host country - Brazil.

I originally planned to prepare a Feijoada but I had to review quite a few of the dishes due to the high fat contents. The national dishes of many countries are often part of celebratory feasts eaten once a year; therefore they tend to be quite rich, indulgent and fatty. 32 days of dishes like this could have a serious effect on my waistline, so I've gone with alternative dishes from some nations.

Tonight I served Moqueca De Camarao, a Brazilian-style shrimp stew. It's really delicious. The sweetness of the coconut milk with the sharpness of the lime make for a perfectly balanced dish. Try it, it's quick, easy and best of all it's a pretty cheap dish to cook! Here's my take: it probably isn't the most authentic recipe in the world but trust me, the flavour combinations are terrific!

Serves 3

4 tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

300g Cherry Tomatoes (halved)

1 Red Pepper

1 Chilli

1 Can of Coconut Milk (400ml)

2 tbsp Hot Sauce (I used Gibney's)

zest and juice of 1 Lime

1 Medium Onion (finely chopped)

1 clove of Garlic (finely chopped)

1 tbsp Fresh Coriander (finely chopped)

300g Tiger Prawns (raw, peeled and de-veined)

Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper

1. Place the tomatoes, red pepper and chilli on a baking tray. Add 2 tbsp of oil and plenty of salt and pepper. Stir well and roast in a 210 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before peeling and de-seeding the red pepper. Put the red pepper, tomatoes and chilli into a blender with the hot sauce and lime juice. Blend well and add the coconut milk. Mix well and set aside.

2. Saute the onion and garlic in the remaining oil over a medium heat for 7-10 minutes until soft but not coloured. Season well and add the coriander and lime zest and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the prawns, season and cook for 5 minutes until cooked. Add the sauce and allow to slowly heat through. Take off the heat just before boiling and serve with boiled rice.