Enjoy the bold colors and tropical flavors of quibebe, a butternut squash stew from Brazil.
The incredible diversity of Brazilian cuisine became apparent to me as I researched recipes for this month’s Food of the World Party.
Brazil is loaded with recipes influenced by Europeans, Africans and Native Indians. There are also regional variations within the country itself. Quibebe is popular in the Northeast of Brazil and reflects a distinct African influence.
Quibebe is reminiscent of curry with heat from chili paste, a bite from ginger and coconut milk adding a tropical note. To me, this butternut squash stew is especially appealing because it’s vegetable based.
It’s your stew, make it your way
Even though I’ve written this as a vegetarian recipe, it can easily be adapted to suit the meat eaters in the family with the addition of chicken, shrimp or fish. You’ll see this demonstrated in the recipe that served as my inspiration. It’s easy to imagine a Brazilian housewife supplementing her meal with whatever she had on hand.
For a flexitarian spin, garbanzos and greens are delicious additions.
You don’t even have to have butternut squash to make a butternut squash stew. Any type of winter squash will work, including pumpkin or acorn squash.
Keep in mind you’ll only need a couple cups of squash when making your selection. Look for already cut squash in the veggie section.
Alternately, you could purchase a larger squash, cut it up and roast it on the weekend and freeze it in recipe sized portions. Here are a couple recipes to help you use it up.
Ingredients
- 1 small onion diced (about 1/3 cup)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil any oil will work
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger or fresh ginger to taste
- 1 teaspoon chili paste or sriracha
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- juice and zest of one lime
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups butternut squash peeled, seeded and cut into 1 inch cubes (I used previously roasted squash)
- 14 ounce can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 1 cup rice or 2 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute the onion in the oil until softened and beginning to change color.
- Stir in the coconut milk, ginger, chili paste and brown sugar.
- Add the butternut squash, reduce heat and cover the pan. Stir and check for doneness after 15 minutes. If using previously cooked squash, heat through and maintain over low heat while the rice is cooking.
- Cook the rice at this time, if necessary.
- Before serving, stir the lime zest and most of the parsley into the cooked rice and arrange on a platter..
- Add the lime juice to the butternut squash stew and ladle over the rice. Garnish with the remaining parsley.
UPDATE 2020: Unfortunately the Food of the World Party no longer exists. I enjoyed participating while it lasted. Click on the Food of the World tag below to see other recipes I made while exploring world cuisine.
Don’t miss this incredible chicken salad loaded with all kinds of good things!
This stew looks so tasty!
We really enjoyed it. Hope you’ll give it a try 🙂
Wow this looks great! I can’t wait to try this one. I love your recipes; they have a little twist that I usually don’t make myself, but when I try yours I love them! Thanks so much for keeping my dinner table fresh and new!
What a kind thing to say, Debi. Thank you, hope you like it 🙂
I love Brazilian food and this looks fantastic!
I wish I knew more about Brazilian food. So far the only recipes I’ve tried have had familiar ingredients.
This is a fantastic autumn dish you’ve put together; thanks for sharing with us!
You’re welcome 🙂 Have a great week!
This looks so wonderful!
The color is amazing, isn’t it? Very flavorful 🙂
What a delicious stew and so perfect for this season!
Thanks, Katerina. Glad you could drop in 🙂
Love this stew.. Looks so delicious.
Thanks, Divya. Hope you’re having a great week 🙂
I love the fresh flavor that ginger adds to this delicious soup! Yum!
It makes a big difference 🙂
This stew sounds really delicious!
It definitely makes a nice change!
What a lovely lovely warming stew – perfect for the weather we now have.
Thank you! It has become a favorite 🙂
We had a total bust this year on our garden squash plants. However, I may go buy one just to make this tasty recipe. It’s my kind of cooking!
I’m sorry to hear about your squash. Part of the joys of gardening. It’s so frequently boom or bust! I promise you won’t regret your trip to the store 🙂
OH MY. I am SO trying this
Please let me know how it turns out for you and what changes you may have made. 🙂
I bet you this has divine flavor, I love everything in it!
Love of the ingredients drew me to the recipe, too 🙂
What a delicious dish, reminds me of a curry.
It’s very much like one, but without the typical mix of spices. Delicious!
Lydia, I adore butternut squash as it blends perfectly with so many wonderful flavors and spice combinations. Your stew sounds amazing and can’t wait to try it!
None of the ingredients are terribly exotic, so it’s simple to make, too. Thanks, Linda!
I love finding out what spices are organic to different parts of the world. This sounds like a fantastic intensely flavored dish. I’m assuming the coconut milk is unsweetened. Am I correct? Thanks.
I had to check the can, but yes, unsweetened coconut milk. I’ve never seen any other kind, but I’m sure it exists now that you’ve mentioned it.
Loved this recipe!!! I didn’t serve it over rice but it’s still delicious on its own. I think it’s the brown sugar that makes it so good 🙂 my stew didn’t turn a bright orange like how it looks in the pictures, not sure why. I will make this again!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for letting me know. I don’t have an answer about the color except maybe it was the variety of squash used? The winter squashes here in Spain tend to be extremely vibrant in color. Also, I used squash I’d already roasted so I’m sure some of it broke up into the sauce as it was heating. I’ll go back into the recipe and indicate that’s what I used.
Colorful and delicious
It looks like you said a curry. Adding this to the menu as well!
For all intents and purposes, it is a curry, without the melange of spices. Still very tasty, though. 🙂
This is really a dish that represents the infusion of cultures in Brazil. Looks fantastic.
It’s absolutely delicious. I was kind of sad when I finished the leftovers and looking forward to making it again.
Hi Lydia, how long does this dish take to cook?
It depends on whether you’re using fresh or already cooked squash and how large you cut it. Say, 20 minutes for fresh squash cut into bite sized cubes.