Shrimp and More Shrimp: Food in Florianópolis

We’ve only been to the coast of Brazil about three times now and when we go we overdose on shrimp and seafood to get us through until the next trip. It is possible to find salmon and some fish where we are in the interior of the country, but many shrimp dishes consist of those tiny little salad shrimp and really don’t satisfy.

I love eating shrimp in Floripa because I know it is so fresh. If you drive around the island to some of the beaches in the early morning you can see the shrimp boats out collecting the daily catch. There is nothing quite like shrimp and cold Brazilian beer.

They get really creative with shrimp on the island – steamed, fried, sautéed with garlic and oil, in a sauce over fish. My absolute favorite dish in Brazil has been Camarão na Moranga which is a shrimp and cheese stew baked in a moranga. Moranga, not to be confused with morango (strawberry), is a variety of pumpkin. Unfortunately on our first trip to the island I didn’t have my camera with me to get a picture and this time we didn’t get to have it, but I am searching for a recipe so hopefully I can feature it for you soon.

My other favorite is the siri – a version of crab usually stuffed in the shell or in the form of a fried bolinho or ball like a hush puppy. I had plenty of that this trip and the pictures to prove it!

As I mentioned in my last post you tend to sacrifice restaurant availability by traveling to Floripa in the off season, but fortunately we stayed at a hotel that was more of a resort. They had fantastic food and wonderful service all at great prices. So we ate at a local restaurant one night and had the rest of our food at the resort restaurants.

We started our first meal out with some bolinhos de siri served with a delicious homemade sauce similar to a tartar sauce, but much more flavorful.

The main course was a moqueca. This time we had it with shrimp and calamari. It was fantastic and as delicious as the version our friends helped us make at home. It was served with seasoned rice, farofa (toasted mandioca flour) and a pudding made out of mandioca flour that was almost like a polenta.

Lunch at the pool consisted of huge baked oysters. They were filled with a cheese and baked off until warm and crispy on the outside.

This was followed by my very favorite casquinha de siri, or crab mixed into a stuffing and baked into the crab shell.

The last time we were on the island we enjoyed sequência de camarão which is about seven courses of shrimp and seafood. We weren’t in an area of the island where this dish was popular so we had to settle for the Festival of Shrimp instead. It was tough, but someone had to enjoy this feast of differently prepared shrimp, fish in shrimp sauce, bolinhos de siri, potatoes and rice.

Waiters often serve you your plate at restaurants here, so I had to get the full plate shot and then a half empty shot of the whole dish. They kept the clay dish under a flame to keep it warm while we were eating.

All of the food was fantastic! They do seafood so well in Floripa.

I hope you aren’t quite full yet. We made a stop in Blumenau on the drive back. It is a city known for its rich German influences and resides in an area known as the European Valley in the south of Brazil. There is stuffed duck, spaetzle and German, well, German-Brazilian, beer to come.