I grew up in Brazil! Easter for us was traveling 3 hours to visit my grandad, my aunt and my great great grandma! I vividly remember running around, playing while the delicious aroma of seafood and dende oil invaded our senses….
It was like going back to the 1700s, where slaves found a way to sneak their African dishes, blending them with native ingredients that was one of the few things allowed besides the songs and beat of capoeira, telling stories of a long lost freedom.
My State was the first State to be formed in Brazil, which was discovered in the south of Bahia, my home state! My great grandma Ba used to tell us that she had a faint recollection of the time where slavery still existed and how sad she was born in a time where they were treated so poorly and disrespected as human beings.
Those times were long gone, she was in her 80s when I was born and the few years I had with her, allowed me to learn so many amazing and yet sad things about the history of African slaves in Brazil.
The culinary traditions are now a staple of Baian cuisine, the cozinha baiana!
I love bringing some of those dishes every year to celebrate my heritage with my family! This year, as in many others, I’ve made vatapa. which is a mixture of nuts, spices, seafood all blended in a delicious bread pudding cooked to perfection, crowned by dende oil.
Today I will be sharing this recipe with you, hope you will be adventurous and try it at your home!
We had an amazing meal with Brazilian friends on good Friday and had a chance to enjoy great dishes – The one we’re sharing below and a Shrimp Moqueca, highlighted in an older post.
The first question should be: where do I find dende oil? You can find it in Portuguese and Brazilian stores, you can also buy it on line in many stores, just search for it.
I hope you enjoy this recipe, which is the center piece of any Baian Typical Restaurant!
Vatapa
Ingredients
1 large loaf of bread ( stay away from french bread, look for a softer type)
1 cup of unsalted peanuts
1 cup of unsalted cashews
1 cup of cooked shrimp
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 cups of milk
1 pound of cod, cooked and cut in very small pieces (optional)
1/2 cup of coconut milk
3 Tbps of dende oil
Cilantro to garnish
Preparation
Immerse the bread in milk and soak it for 3/5 hours
Use blender to grind shrimp, cod, peanuts and cashews
Remove excess of milk from the bread and place it in a very large pot, I use a Wok. add the blended ingredients, salt, pepper and mix and mix it all until it starts boiling, add coconut milk slowly and mix.
After 5 minutes add dende oil and look at the color, to make sure it has a puree consistency and it’s yellow, but not too dark. I add slowly, looking at it.
Stir for another 5 minutes and serve!
Easy, isn’t it??
I can’t wait to hear you telling me you’ve tried and if you liked it!
Sharing my culture and traditions help me bond with who I am and teaches my son a little bit about where he comes from!
Hope you’ve enjoyed it! As usual, give us a Trendy Shout!
I love all things seafood and I miss my grandma and great-grandma and definitely miss their cooking! This looks delish! #NomNomNom
This reminds me a recipe that my grandma use to make: miga de pan ? But we eat it with meat. This seems delicious.
Anything about seafood, I will certainly smooch em all especially the shrimps and crabs. Yummy!
I’ve never had brazillian food before but this looks good. I’ll have to try it someday.
This dish sounds interesting and I’ve never had one like it before. I wish I could try out an authentic one.
I never had vatapa before but I am open to trying new food. Thanks for sharing it looks delicious!
This looks delicious. I will have to try it one day!
Beautiful story and great recipe. I’m glad you shared it with us
Great recipe. Since I love shrimp I know I’d like this recipe. I bet I could find the oil online too to complete the needed items for the recipe.
That looks good! We love seafood and I’m always into trying different cuisine. Would love to try that one of these days.
I don’t eat seafood as I am vegetarian but I do like Brazillian and Portuguese food. This would be perfect for my friend he would love it x
It’s quite easy to prepare and I love that it’s packed with flavor as well. I wouldn’t mind giving this recipe a try one of these days.
I’ve never heard of this dish before but I would love to try and cook it. It’s unfortunate that it was born in a time wherein slavery was very much a norm.
This looks like a tasty dish. I am Portuguese by Island Portuguese so we tend to use less coconut in savory dishes and more in desserts.
Wow, this is so different but looks absolutely amazing. I plan to try this out, I think my boyfriend would love it.
I love trying out food from other countries. This looks and sounds delicious. I can’t wait to try it.
When the shrimp has cooked, it is removed from heat and dendê oil is added and mixed well into the dish.
I have never heard of vatapa before but it sounds like an interesting recipe. This is something I am going to have to try making for the family for sure. Thanks for sharing the awesome recipe.
I would love to try this one! I love seafoods and I think this recipe is easy to make. I hope to visit Brazil soon as well, so I could try the authentic Vatapa.
My fiancé is the biggest seafood fan.. I will definitely try this out. I have so many happy childhood memories based around food also..It is family time as well as eating time..
It definitely looks interesting. I always love trying different ethnic foods. And this will definitely make it on the list of foods to try.
I love to try new foods. This is a first for me hearing of this delicious dish. I would absolutely like to try it.
There is nothing better than bonding with family over food. I recently lost my beloved grandmother and whenever the grief takes over, I whip up some of her specialities and it’s like she is right there with me.
It looks so good. Frankly you had me at Brazilian lol. Thanks for sharing
Yummy! The texture of the dish is of a creamy pureed form, and it is sometimes called a soup or stew.
I am not much of a cooker, but I will share this reciepe with someone I know. He admires cultural dishs because he says there is story behind them
I love when you share your Brazilian dishes! This looks delicious!
This dish looks so good!! I love anything with shrimp in it so this is right up my alley!!
I’m not a fan of shrimp, but I’d try the other part of this without the shrimp. I’ve never had it before or even heard of it. Sounds good!
Looks like a delicuous meal and the recipe is quiet easy. I really wanted to try this one.
My husband and I would LOVE this dish! Thank you for sharing the recipe! I am sure Amazon has that sauce. We love trying new to us ethnic foods! It sounds like your state has much history to be proud of!
What a beautiful looking dish. Thanks for sharing a recipe and teaching us about this type of cuisine.
I had not heard of Vatapa, but it looks delicious. My husband loves shrimp, so this is a dish he would enjoy.
Wow, I have never tried anything like this. It seems easy enough to make, now to find dende oil!
Vatapa looks so delicious and easy to make. I am always looking for new recipes to try. I will have to get the ingredients I need to make some on the weekend.
I enjoy trying cuisine from all cultures. This is one I will definitely try. It looks good and I’m sure my family will love it.
This meal looks delicious! I have never tried anything like this but I’ll have to try it. Thanks!
That sounds really good! I have never tried anything like this. It is great that you keep your cultural background alive for your son.
It’s really nice to have fond memories of loved ones. I remember baking with my grandma. Maybe it’s’ her fault I have such a sugar tooth. That shrimp looks very tasty!
So beautiful and interesting to know about other’s traditions! That food seems so yummy and delicious!
We always enjoy exploring other cultures through food. This is my first time hearing of vatapa and it reminds me of a savory bread pudding!
I love trying new foods, but am usually intimidated by the recipes, worrying I’ll totally mess it up. This one looks pretty easy to make and I can’t wait to introduce family to it!
I’ve never had anything like this before, but it definitely looks simple to make. I think it’s great that you have such strongly ingrained traditions in your family!
Wow! This is new to me and it looks delicious. I can’t have shrimps so if I ever make it, I’ll use chicken 🙂
I love shrimp, this is a very different version than one I’ve seen. It looks delicious and sounds very healthy.
What a delicious sounding dish, I have to admit I haven’t heard of it before, but I will definitely be giving it a try now.
how refreshing this sounds! I’ll have to try making this for a get together with friends and family, I know they’d love it!
My wife and I like shrimp! We may have to try Shrimp Moqueca some time!
I love shrimp so much, but I’ve never heard of vatapa. I can’t wait to try this!
I wish I liked shrimp! The rest of my family would probably like this–they love their shrimp.
Vatapa sounds interesting! Never heard of it before! I am always up for trying something new!
That meal looks entirely delicious! I love shrimp and we’ve already ate it twice this week for dinner.
That sounds delicious. I’ve never had this before. I’ve actually never heard of it at all. It’s something that I’d enjoy, though. Thanks.
That looks so amazing! I’ve never heard of vatapa before, but I can’t wait to try it! Om nom nom.