Makes: 6 servings

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Level: Easy

INGREDIENTS

  • 750 g of medium shrimps
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil
  • ½ onion, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 peeled and deseeded tomatoes, chopped
  • 3 peeled chayotes, cut into large cubes
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

PREPARATION

Season the shrimp with the lime juice, salt, and black pepper. Fry on both sides, in olive oil, and set aside. In the same pot, braise the onion, garlic, and tomatoes. Add the chayotes and cover with boiling water. When they are cooked through, season with salt and black pepper and put in the shrimps. Cook for about 2 minutes, adjust seasoning, and serve.

IN DETAIL
“Stewed and harmonizing with the shrimp, the chayote in this dish is worshiped in Rio de Janeiro. That’s where Carmen Miranda, the singer of ‘Disseram que eu voltei americanizada’, learned to enjoy it.”, tells J.A. Dias Lopes in the book “A canja do imperador”. Who does not remember these verses from the 1940’s samba? “Enquanto houver Brasil, na hora das comidas, / Eu sou do camarão ensopadinho com chuchu”. (As long as there is Brazil, when it comes to eating/ I’m for the shrimp stewed with chayote”.