Casquinha de Siri Capixaba/Shell of Crab Meat
‘Casquinha de Siri’ means the ‘shell of crab meat’ (siri is
a small crab common in Brazil). This dish pitomizes the flavors of Brazil. The
Brazilians love their siri crabs. Every eatery that serves fish serves
Casquinha de Siri. It is a common favorite at parties. This is the ‘Capixaba’
version (pronounced “kap-ee-sha-ba”), from the Espírito Santo region where Bill
comes from.
Makes 5-6 portions
Ingredients:
300g of fresh crab meat
3 ripe tomatoes chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove of garlic chopped
3 spring onions chopped
Juice of ½ lime
3 tablespoons of fresh coriander
1 teaspoon of colorant
Salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoon of olive oil
In a medium sized pan, heat the olive oil to low and fry the
onions and garlic for about 3 minutes. Add the spring onions, tomatoes, coriander,
lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 2 minutes. Finally add the
crab meat and the colorant and mix slowly together. Cover and simmer for about
20 minutes.
Serve crab meat mixture either in individual crab shells or
on a large platter. This dish is eaten with farofa/mandioca flour
accompaniment, and pimenta sauce (chili). This dish also goes well with a
delicious homemade vinaigrette. Just heaven!