AI-generated image
Peixada cearense
Peixada cearense: Fortaleza fish poached with vegetables, eggs and coconut milk, the broth turned into pirão
Fortaleza's beach restaurants, the barracas on Praia do Futuro, build a whole Sunday around peixada: thick steaks of firm white fish poached in a coconut broth with potatoes, carrots, chayote, cabbage and peppers, crowned with halved boiled eggs. The fish is mild and juicy, the broth fragrant with coriander, and half of it is ladled off and thickened with cassava flour into pirão, a soft, savoury porridge eaten alongside with white rice and pepper sauce. A common mistake is putting the fish in with the vegetables from the start, so it breaks up before the potatoes are done; the vegetables get a head start. Use snapper, sea bass, hake or another firm white fish in steaks. Chef's tip: stir the farinha into the hot broth off the heat, a little at a time, and whisk hard; it is the only way to get a smooth, lump-free pirão.
- Total time
- 65 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the fish
For the broth
To finish
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Fresh ingredients (10)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Season 2 ⅝ lb firm white fish steaks with 2 limes, 2 cloves garlic and 1 tsp salt. Cover and leave in the fridge for 20 minutes.
20 minStep 2: Heat 3 tbsp olive oil in a large, wide pot over a medium heat and fry 2 onions, the rest of 2 cloves garlic, 3 tomatoes and 1 green pepper for 6 minutes until soft.
6 minStep 3: Add 3 waxy potatoes, 2 carrots, 1.2 litres water and the rest of 1 tsp salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
10 minStep 4: Add 1 chayote and ¼ white cabbage and simmer for 5 minutes more until the potatoes are nearly tender.
5 minStep 5: Pour in 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, lay the fish on top in one layer and spoon the broth over. Cover and simmer gently for 10–12 minutes until the fish is opaque all the way through and flakes when pressed at the bone.
12 minStep 6: Carefully lift the fish, vegetables and 4 eggs onto a warm platter, scatter with 2 tbsp fresh coriander and cover loosely.
Step 7: Ladle about 800 ml of the hot broth into a smaller pan. Off the heat, sprinkle in 4 oz farinha de mandioca a little at a time, whisking hard, then cook on a low heat for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the pirão is smooth and thick like soft polenta.
4 minStep 8: Stir the rest of 2 tbsp fresh coriander into the pirão and serve with the fish, a jug of the remaining broth and white rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 44 g
- Carbs
- 38 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does peixada cearense take?
- About 65 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of limes?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Singapore chilli crab
Chilli crab was first sold from a pushcart on the Kallang river in the 1950s and is now the dish visitors queue for along Singapore's East Coast seafood strip. Big mud crabs are cut up, wok-fried and simmered in a thick, sweet, tangy and gently hot sauce of chilli, tomato and garlic, which is then silked with beaten egg. Everyone eats with their hands and mops up the sauce with fried or steamed mantou buns. It is a weekend or celebration meal, messy and loud. Buy crabs live or freshly cooked the same day from a fishmonger you trust. Discard any live crab that doesn't move, smells of ammonia or has a cracked, leaking shell. The common mistake is boiling the sauce after adding the egg, which scrambles it into lumps; pour it in a thin stream over a low heat. Chef's tip: ask the fishmonger to clean and quarter the crab for you, and crack each claw lightly with the back of a cleaver so the sauce soaks in.
Singaporean
Pão de queijo
Pão de queijo comes from Minas Gerais, where every café and grandmother's kitchen has a tray in the oven for breakfast or afternoon coffee. Made with cassava starch (polvilho) instead of wheat flour, the little rolls are crisp and golden outside and stretchy, cheesy and almost hollow inside. Mineiros use queijo minas meia-cura; a mix of Parmesan-style cheese and mozzarella is the closest match elsewhere. Chef's tip: pour the boiling milk and oil over the starch (escaldar). Scalding cooks part of the starch, and that's what gives the chewy, elastic inside; and use some sour starch (polvilho azedo), which makes them puff up tall.
Limonada suíça
Limonada suíça is the creamy, frothy limeade served in juice bars and lunch counters all over Brazil. Despite the name ('Swiss lemonade'), nobody knows of any Swiss link, and it's made with whole Tahiti limes, blended briefly, skin and all, then strained and sweetened with condensed milk. It's cold, zingy and pale green, perfect with a hot lunch. Chef's tip: blend for no more than 10–15 seconds. Lime peel gives the drink its wonderful perfume, but blended too long it releases bitterness from the pith; serve it straight away for the same reason.