Pirarucu de casaca, salted arapaima and plantain casserole, Pará style

Ingredients

• 1 kg dried salted arapaima fillet
• 4 pieces very ripe plantain with spotted peel
• 250 g Uarini pearl cassava flour
• 200 ml canned coconut milk 18% fat
• 2 pieces yellow onion
• 4 cloves garlic clove
• 3 pieces ripe round tomato
• 1 piece sweet red bell pepper
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro
• 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 150 ml refined cooking sunflower oil
• 120 g classic egg mayonnaise
• 3 pieces fresh free-range egg
• 60 g pitted green olive in brine
• 60 g pitted prune with no added sugar
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Desalt the dried salted arapaima fillet in a generous volume of cold water in the refrigerator at 4 °C for 24 hours, changing the water 4 times.
2. Drain the arapaima fillet, place it in a large pot of unsalted water simmering at 90 °C, and poach over medium heat for 15 minutes, until the flesh is tender but not falling apart.
3. Remove the fish with a slotted spoon, let it cool on a clean cutting board for 10 minutes, then shred the flesh into generous flakes by hand, discarding any remaining pin bones.
4. Place the eggs in a small saucepan of boiling water at 100 °C, cook for 9 minutes for a firm hard-boiled texture, then plunge immediately into an ice bath for 5 minutes before peeling and slicing into neat wedges.
5. Peel the very ripe plantains, slice them diagonally lengthwise, then fry them in a wide skillet with sunflower oil heated to 175 °C for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until deep glossy mahogany and meltingly tender inside. Drain on paper towels.
6. Pour the Uarini pearl cassava flour into a bowl, drizzle with the coconut milk, and stir gently with a fork for 1 minute to moisten all the grains without crushing them, then let swell for 10 minutes.
7. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat (around 140 °C), add the diced yellow onions, grated garlic cloves, and finely diced red bell pepper, then sweat for 6 to 8 minutes until the vegetables are translucent and soft without browning.
8. Stir in the crushed tomatoes and freshly ground black pepper, simmer gently over low heat for 10 minutes until nearly all the liquid has evaporated, then add the shredded arapaima and chopped fresh cilantro. Cook, stirring, for 3 minutes over low heat to meld the flavors, then remove from heat.
9. Preheat your oven to 180 °C (convection).
10. In a large, oiled ceramic baking dish, arrange an initial layer of fried plantains across the entire bottom.
11. Cover with half of the seasoned arapaima mixture, then spread the coconut milk-hydrated cassava flour in an even layer.
12. Add the remaining arapaima, cover with the remaining plantain slices, and spread a thin veil of classic egg mayonnaise over the top.
13. Neatly arrange the hard-boiled egg wedges, green olives, and pitted prunes across the surface.
14. Bake on the middle rack at 180 °C for 20 minutes, until bubbling gently around the edges and nicely golden brown on top.
15. Let the dish rest for 10 minutes out of the oven before serving with a large spoon to set the layers and make portioning easy.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

933.5 kcal

Protein

101.22 g

Carbohydrate

47.59 g

Fat

34.65 g

Fibre

2.69 g

Calcium

50.76 mg

Iron

0.25 mg

Magnesium

10.27 mg