Vatapá (Brazilian Recipe)

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Ingredients for 6 portions: 200g grilled peanuts; 200g cashew nuts; 100g dried shrimps, ground; 1kg fish (pollack); 6 small fish fillets (e.g. whiting) or 12 medium sized prawns; 1 fish head; 1/2 loat of bread; 1 cup milk; 2 coconuts; 2 large onions; 4 cloves garlic; bay leaf; bouquet garni; 1 sprig coriander; ginger; nutmeg; peppercorns and pepper; juice of 1 lemon; 2 tablespoons Dendê Oil; pepper sauce (hot peppers macerated in oil and vinegar). Vatapá is the number one dish in Afro-Brazilian cooking and it is also the most famous one from Bahia. Prepare the traditional marinade: lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Chop the fish into pieces and marinate for 2 hours. Extract the milk from a coconut. Grind the peanuts, cashew nuts, dred shrimps, ginger and nutmeg together in a eletric mixer. Soak the breadcrumbs in milk. Prepare the stock: one litr of water, salt, peppercorns, onions, bouquet garni and coriander. Add the marinated fish and the fish head and leave to cook. Take out the fish and the head. Strain the broth and keep it. Flake the fish. Add, stirring constantly, the mixture from the blender (peanuts, cashew nuts, etc...), the soaked breadcrumbs and the flaked fish, to the broth in the saucepan. Bring to the boil and then leave to reduce on a low heat. Vatapá should be a thick purée Add the dendê oil (the mixture will become yellow). Lastly pour in the coconut milk and season with the pepper sauce to taste. Serve very hot.