The first time that I tried acarajé was at the airport in Salvador, Bahia (located on Brazil's central coast region). 3 ladies wearing traditional Bahian attire (see below) were sitting just outside of the terminal in a make-shift kitchen consisting of a couple of large metal pots, a butane burner and a few coolers. They recommended their acarajé, a specialty of the region. These deep-fried cakes consisting of mashed beans, shrimp, and spices were so good that I found myself ordering them throughout my stay in Salvador. This is a simple recipe. You can form acarajé as cakes or balls depending on your preferred serving size.
Recommended Equipment:
food processor or blender
Ingredients:
1 15oz. can navy beans, drained
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 Serrano pepper, diced
1 cup of fresh shrimp, chopped
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 tspn black pepper
3 tbsp manioc or tapioca flour
oil for frying
dipping sauce:
3 tbsp olive oil
3 shrimp. finely diced
1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
2 to 3 dried hot peppers
3 tbsp dendê oil (palm oil)
1/4 tspn salt
Preparation:
- Place the beans, onion, Serrano pepper and shrimp into a food processor and pulse to form a smooth paste.
- Add salt, pepper, and flour and mix the ingredients until they are well combined.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the oil for deep frying.
- While the oil heats up, form the acarajé using your hands. You can form them as balls or paddies - it's up to you. You can even garnish them with small dried shrimp pressed into the pattie if you prefer.
- Serve hot with dipping sauce.
- In a skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the shrimp, onions, and hot peppers.
- When the onions become clear and translucent, add the dendê oil and salt to the skillet and reduce the heat to simmer.
- Serve when all of the acarajé are ready.
Brasil [ print this recipe ]
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