Recipe - Cassava vs Yams

Though folding the shrimp into the purée is traditional in Brazil, we placed it on top for a prettier presentation.

Active time: 1 1/4 hr Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr
Servings: Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients
For yuca purée
1 (16- to 18-oz) bag frozen peeled yuca*, not thawed
4 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup well-stirred canned unsweetened coconut milk (8 fl oz)

For shrimp
2 lb large shrimp in shell (21 to 25 per lb), peeled and deveined, reserving shells
3 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 lb fresh tomatoes, chopped
4 bottled red malagueta peppers or 1- to 2-inch fresh red Thai chiles*
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons dendê oil** (optional)

Preparation
Make yuca purée:
Bring yuca, water, onion, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until yuca is very tender, 10 to 15 minutes.

Drain in a colander. When yuca is cool enough to handle, remove any stringy fibrous cores and transfer mixture to a food processor. Add coconut milk and remaining teaspoon salt and purée until very smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and keep warm, covered, until ready to serve.

Make shrimp broth:
While yuca cooks, simmer shrimp shells in water with 1/2 teaspoon salt in a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to about 2 cups, about 20 minutes. Pour shrimp broth through a sieve into a bowl, discarding shells.

Purée green bell pepper in cleaned food processor until smooth, about 1 minute.

Heat olive oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add pepper purée, onion, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt (mixture will splatter) and sauté, stirring occasionally, until mixture starts to brown, 6 to 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, malagueta peppers or Thai chiles (if using), and 1 cup shrimp broth (reserve remainder for another use) and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half, about 6 minutes.

Toss shrimp with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and add to tomato mixture. Cook, stirring frequently, until shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in cilantro and dendê oil (if using). Serve shrimp over yuca purée.

*Available at some Latino markets.
**Available at some Latino markets and sendexnet.com.