moqueca

I recently discoverd this new culinary delight while watching a Netflix documentary on street food in Latin America. As soon as I saw it on t.v, I knew I had to try making it at home. Moqueca is essentially a Brazilian seafood stew. Usually, fish and shrimp are used in the dish and the stew itself is made by adding chopped onions, garlic, a special type of West African palm oil, coconut milk, and tomatoes. The dish is unique in that it is uses a mix of indigenous, African, and Brazilian cooking techniques and ingredients all while being a national dish of Brazil. The dish was introduced about 300 years ago, when the Portuguese people brought cococut to Brazil and the African people brought palm oil. I have put the recipe I used to create the dish below.

INGREDIENTS

- 3 large white onions

- 8 cloves of garlic

- 1/3 cup Dende Oil (West African red palm oil)

-1/2 cup of water

- 3 bell peppers- one red, one orange, one green

- 8 Roma Tomotoes

-2 Cans of light Coconut Milk (13.5 Fl. oz/ 400 ml)

-2 pounds of deboned white fish (we used whiting but haddock, halibut, or cod would be just fine)

-2 pounds of peeled, deveined shrimp

-2 cups of chopped cilantro

-2 limes

- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

-1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes

INSTRUCTIONS

- Cut the fish into even 2x2 inch pieces. Add the juice of one lime, half of a teaspoon salt, half a teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon chilli flakes. Marinate for 1 hour.

-Select a large pot and put it on a medium flame.

-When pan is sufficiently hot, gently pour dende oil (West African palm oil) taking care to avoid the splatter. Please be especially careful when using this red palm oil because of its ability to stain countertops and other surfaces.

- As the oil is sufficiently heated, add the garlic. Wait 1 minute, and then add onions.

-Once the onions are translucent, add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.

-Add two cans of coconut milk and rinse the insides of the can with a 1/4 cup of water. Add this remaining water to the pot.

-Add the one teaspoon of salt and pepper to the pot.

-Core the bell pepper and remove the stem. Chop the bell peppers and add to the cooking mixture. Let this mixture cook and come to a simmer for 15 minutes.

-Gently fold the fish, along with its marinated liquid, into the simmering liquid. After 2 minutes, turn the stove off.

-Finally, add the shrimps and add cover the pot with its lid.

- Squeeze the juice of one lime and add the remaining cup of coriander to the stew. At this time, give the pot a good stir taking care not to break the fish. Zest some lime onto the serving bowls for flavor.

-Serve alongside 8 ounces of rice.

-Bom Apetite- Bon Appétit in Portuguese

I like to use more ingredients so that I can have some leftovers to enjoy later on. As such, the proportions may be higher than an average family of 3-4 would consume.