Bobó de camarão /Shrimp and Mandioca Casserole
‘Bobó de camarão’ is a shrimp and mandioca stew. It has a
Bahia state influence having originally come from West Africa, where there is a
similar dish called ‘Ipete’. The dish is simple to make and delicious. The
traditional recipes use dendê (palm oil) but olive oil is used as a substitute.
Makes 5-6 portions
Ingredients:
1 kg of fresh shrimp (without shells)
1 kg of mandioca cubed
4 tomatoes chopped
1 large onion chopped
3 garlic cloves chopped
Juice of 2 limes
200ml of coconut milk
3 tablespoons of coriander
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Firstly, clean the shrimp and put in a large bowl. Add the
garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper and mix well together. Cover and leave to
marinate in the fridge for about half an hour. Preparing the mandioca: Peel the
skin (which is quite tough), and remove the core of the vegetable. Cube into
pieces ready for boiling. In a large pan add the cubed mandioca and cover with
water (season to taste) and cook until soft. Once cooked, drain and liquidize
until smooth.
In a large saucepan heat the olive oil to medium hot and fry
the rest of the chopped garlic (2 cloves), onion, tomatoes, coriander and
spring onions for about 3 minutes. Mix in the fresh shrimp and fry for another
3 minutes. After a minute or so, pour in the liquidized mandioca and stir well
and finally mix in the coconut milk. Simmer for about 3 minutes until the
mixture thickens. Your prawn casserole is done. Serve with rice and a salad.