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Brazilian kitchen

Shrimp Moqueca

Coconut milk, dende oil and sweet peppers turning a pan sunset-orange while prawns curl up in the middle. A moqueca traditionally naps in a clay pot, but prawns cook in minutes and refuse to wait for anyone.

Total time
18 min
Serves
3
Effort
Easy

What you need

Written for 3 — nudge the counter and the numbers follow.

Cooking for
3 people

0 of 10 in the basket.

How you make it

  1. Warm the dende oil in a wide pan over medium heat, then soften the onion and both peppers for 6 minutes until floppy but still bright.

  2. Add the garlic and tomato wedges and cook for 2 minutes, just until the tomatoes slump at the edges.

  3. Pour in the coconut milk with a good pinch of salt and bring to a gentle simmer, never a rolling boil.

  4. Slide in the prawns in a single layer and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes, turning once, until they are opaque, firm and curled into loose C shapes.

  5. Take the pan off the heat, stir in the lime juice and coriander, and serve straight away with plain rice.

Read all that and thought “absolutely not”?

Completely fair. Shrimp Moqueca is sitting in the Brazilian kitchen right now, it costs nothing, and it will never arrive.

Order it instead

Smoke, beans and a party that starts at the grill.