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Sekai Gohan
Caldeirada: Brazilian Seafood Stew with Tomato and Peppers
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Shelled mussel meat (mexilhão limpo, sem casca) | 7 oz (200 g) | Deep seafood savoriness in the broth |
| Peeled shrimp (camarão cinza limpo, sem casca) | 7 oz (200 g) | Sweetness |
| Octopus tentacles (tentáculo de polvo) | 7 oz (200 g) | Chew and texture |
| Squid rings (lula em anéis) | 7 oz (200 g) | Tender bite |
| White fish fillet, in large pieces (filé de pescada em pedaços grandes) | 14 oz (400 g) | The main flesh of the stew |
| Lemons (limão), juiced | 2 | Marinade |
| Bell peppers, yellow, red and green (pimentão amarelo, vermelho, verde), sliced into rings | 1 of each | Sweetness and color |
| Medium onions (cebola média), finely chopped | 2 | The base |
| Ripe tomatoes (tomate maduro), chopped | 2 | Acidity and liquid |
| Coriander (coentro), chopped | 1 bunch | Aroma |
| Tomato paste (extrato de tomate) | 1 tbsp | Depth and body |
| Garlic (alho socado), crushed | 3 cloves | Aroma |
| Black pepper (pimenta-do-reino) | to taste | Seasoning and marinade |
| Salt (sal) | to taste | Seasoning |
| Red palm oil (azeite de dendê) | as needed | Color and its own distinctive flavor |
| White long-grain rice (arroz agulhinha branco), cooked | to serve | Alongside |
| Fish pirão (pirão de peixe) | to serve, optional | Alongside |
Steps
1Marinate the seafood in lemon and pepper
Put the mussel meat, shrimp, octopus, squid and white fish in a bowl. Squeeze the juice of the 2 lemons over them and grind on black pepper. Turn the pieces with your hands so every one touches the juice. Leave them for 30 minutes; the seafood is ready when it has sat its full time in a shallow pool of juice, glossy and flecked with pepper.
2Cook the garlic and onion until lightly golden
Set the wide, deep pot on the stove. Add the crushed garlic and chopped onion and cook them, stirring often, so they color evenly. The onion softens first, then the edges begin to turn. Stop when the onion and garlic are lightly golden and smell sweet; any darker and the base turns bitter.
3Soften the tomatoes into the base
Add the chopped ripe tomatoes to the pot and stir them through the onion and garlic. Let them cook until the pieces collapse and the juice they release mixes into the onion. Keep stirring now and then so nothing catches on the bottom. Move on when the tomato has softened into a loose, moist base with no firm chunks left.
4Add the mussels, shrimp and fish
Take the mussel meat, shrimp and white fish from the marinade and lay them on the tomato base. Leave the octopus and squid in the bowl for now. Season with salt and move the pieces once, gently, so the fish stays whole. Within a short time, liquid begins to gather around the seafood as it gives up its juices, and this is the moment to start a 10-minute count.
5Add the octopus and squid, then check the liquid
After 10 minutes, add the octopus and squid to the pot. Look at the level of the liquid. If it does not cover the seafood, pour in water a little at a time until it just does. Stop when the liquid sits just over the top pieces, so the stew stays thick rather than soupy.
6Finish with peppers, coriander and dendê under the lid
Add the tomato paste, the yellow, red and green pepper rings, the chopped coriander and the dendê. Cover the pot and cook for about 10 minutes. Lift the lid and check: the peppers should be just softened, bending but still holding their rings. The shrimp are curled and red, and the squid and octopus are tender, not hard and rubbery.
7Serve it piping hot
Bring the pot to the table straight away, while it is still steaming. Set out bowls of white long-grain rice and the pirão beside it. Ladle the stew into bowls so every portion gets fish, shellfish and pepper rings. It is at its best now, while the peppers are bright and the broth is glossy red.