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Peixada cearense
Fish poached in coconut broth
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
- 2 ⅝ lb firm white fish steakssnapper, sea bass, hake or cod, about 3 cm thick
- 2 limesjuiced
- 4 cloves garliccrushed
- 2 tsp salt
For the broth
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 onionssliced
- 3 tomatoeschopped
- 1 green peppersliced
- 3 waxy potatoespeeled and quartered
- 2 carrotscut into thick slices
- 1 chayotepeeled and cut into wedges, or a courgette
- ¼ white cabbagecut into 2 wedges
- 1.2 litres water
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- 4 tbsp fresh corianderchopped
To finish
- 4 eggsboiled for 9 minutes, peeled and halved
- 4 oz farinha de mandiocafine cassava flour, for the pirão
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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.
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