Moqueca
Bahian fish stew, layered not stirred: white fish, peppers and tomatoes in coconut milk stained golden with dendê palm oil.
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 30 min
- total
- 55 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- easy
Moqueca baiana is a stew you assemble rather than cook: fish marinated in lime, layered in a pot with onion, peppers and tomato, drowned gently in coconut milk and dendê, and never stirred, so the fish arrives at the table in whole, confident pieces.
Dendê, red palm oil, is the taste and the color of Bahia. A spoonful stains the whole pot gold and adds a flavor nothing else carries.
Moqueca is one of the world's classic dishes from 67 countries.
method
Marinate the fish in the lime juice, garlic and salt for 30 minutes.
In a wide clay pot or dutch oven, lay half the onion, pepper and tomato rings. Arrange the fish on top, then the remaining vegetables.
Pour over the coconut milk and the dendê and scatter half the cilantro.
Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 20 to 25 minutes without stirring, spooning sauce over the top once or twice.
Finish with the rest of the cilantro and the spring onions, and serve from the pot with rice.
chef's tips
- Never stir; tilt and spoon. That is how the fish stays whole.
- Dendê is worth ordering; without it you have a pleasant coconut fish stew, not a moqueca.
- A splash of the sauce stirred into cooked cassava flour makes pirão, the traditional companion.