Shrimp cooked in coconut sauce is very popular in the Brazilian kitchen. Brazilian shrimp curry is a fusion of Asian and Brazilian flavors and cooking styles. Some Brazilian shrimp curry recipes actually have no curry. They will use a blend of cumin, turmeric and coriander. I have a bag of a wonderful curry my youngest son brought me as a gift from his travels to Asia and I have been using this wonderful gift in my cooking whenever it’s called for. For this recipe, I used wild caught Argentinian shrimp, which has a mild and sweet flavor. It is my favorite. Brazilian curry can be served as a soup, but it is commonly served over white rice and a side of sautéed spinach on butter.

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. raw shrimp
• 1 can coconut milk
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• olive oil
• 2 limes
• 1 shallot finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 5 ripe Roma tomatoes chopped
• 2 cups butternut cut into small cubes
• 1 large potato cut into small cubes
• 2 large carrots thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper cut into small pieces
• 1 finely chopped piri piri pepper with the seeds removed. (piri piri is above average in heat and kind of hard to find, so you can use a chilli pepper)
• 1 cup frozen petit peas
• 1 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp. ketchup
• 1 tbsp. curry
• bunch fresh basil chopped or sautéed spinach
• salt and black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook shrimp in boiling water for 5 minutes until nice and pink. Drain. Set aside to cool for a few minutes, remove shell and devein. Then, squeeze lime juice, sprinkle salt/pepper and drizzle olive oil. Mix it all together for even flavor. Set aside.
2. Put the sauté shallots, garlic, and tomatoes with a generous amount of olive oil, in a big pot. When the tomatoes start to burst add carrots, butternut, potatoes and peppers. Stir to coat all vegetables and add vegetable broth. Cover and let it cook until carrots, butternut and potato are softer.
3. Add tomato paste and ketchup. Stir. Then, add coconut milk, curry and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium, letting it cook for about 10 minutes, stirring ocasionaly until the sauce has thickened a little. This happens when the cooked potato and butternut release their starch.
4. Wash ice off the peas and add them to the curry.
5. Add shrimp and let it cook for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and garnish the shrimp with basil or add sauteed spinach on butter. Why not add both?

Bon Appetit!