| The formation of the
villages of the archipelago is essentially tied to the
sea and the mangroves. Therefore, the most common dishes
are fish, crustaceans and mollusks.
The region where the archipelago is located is called
Dendê Coast, due to the large quantity of Dendê
trees (African oilpalm), from whose fruit is extracted
the dendê oil.
The combination of seafood, coconut milk, and dendê
oil could not be better: moqueca!
This local dish can be made with almost anything: fish,
octopus, shrimp, lobster.
Moqueca without the dendê oil is called “ensopado”
(“stew”). It is also very tasty, and lighter
than moqueca.
Another group of typical dishes are the sauces, which
can be made out of mollusks such as the sururú
mussel and octopus, or crustaceans such as shrimp.
Oysters are usually tasted in natura, while lambretas
(Brazilian hawkfish) are cooked in sauce with several
different spices.
Fish are excellent grilled or fried. The vermelho (red
snapper) and the cavala (mackerel) are excellent.
Some crustaceans can be cooked, such as the crab, the
guaiamum and the aratú (two different species
of land crab), or grilled, such as the lobster. Sirí
(crab), dressed and cooked, is served in its shell,
called "casquinha".
For drinking there are diverse juices made of local
fruits, such as mangaba, cupuassu, acerola, hog plum,
cashew, or then the caipirinhas and caipi-fruits made
with fresh fruit and the typically Brazilian cachaça
(sugarcane rum).
For dessert, there are sweets made out of coconut and
other fruits.
So, try whatever you can! Everything is delicious! |
