A few months ago I was fortunate enough to be able to travel to Brazil for the World Cup. It was such an awesome time with awesome friends in an awesome country. I guess you could say it was awesome. Despite some small setbacks, like getting ripped off by taxis, bitten by prostitutes or going to shady dance clubs, my time there was truly spectacular.
Of course the parties and the soccer were phenomenal, but the food really stood out for me. While we were in Salvador (Brazil's old capital, located right by the ocean) we ate tons of moqueca, a fish or seafood stew that's indigenous to the area. It's typically served over rice, with a side of Farofa (casava flour fried into a gritty consistency) and a caipirinha to wash it down. Our first pot of moqueca was so good we practically licked our plates clean (of course we also were not allowed to throw any food away or else one of our friends would whine about it).
I was worried that once I left Salvador, I'd never be able to eat it again, but luckily you can find almost all the ingredients at your local grocery store. The only hard to find ingredient is dende oil, or red palm oil. This deep red oil was found all over Salvador and was used to cook pretty much everything, from the deep fried acaraje to of course, moqueca. Luckily, Amazon carries dende oil, and it's prime eligible too! What a world we live in.
Definitely try this out, plus you probably won't run this risk of getting bitten in the face by a whore making this at home.
Moqueca de Peixe
Serves 4.
2 lbs of firm white fish (I used mahi mahi)
1 onion diced
2 limes
6 roma tomatoes
2 garlic cloves diced
2 bell peppers (I used the little mini bell peppers) diced
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 hot pepper of your choice (for heat)
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp of tomato paste
3 tbsp dende oil
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Farofa
1/2 cup of casava flour
1 garlic clove diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1. Cut the fish into large, even chunks and marinade in the juice of 1 lime, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp each of salt and pepper for 30 minutes
2. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute then transfer to an ice bath. Peel off the tomato skins and dice the tomatoes (optional but I don't like tomato skins)
3. In a clay moqueca pot (or a large dutch oven if you're not in Brazil) on high heat, sweat the onions and garlic with the olive oil. After onions turn translucent, add the hot peppers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Cook on high for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the coconut milk and dende oil and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add fish simmer until fish is cooked all the way through (about 4 minutes). At the last minute, add the cilantro and squeeze in the juice of 1 lime. Serve over rice.
Farofa
1. To make the Farofa, heat skillet on high with olive oil and saute garlic for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the casava flour and toss to coat. Toast this for 3-4 minutes or until brown. Serve with meat skewers, moqueca, tacos, salad, beans, rice or anything that you want to add some crunch.
Moqueca de Peixe
Serves 4.
2 lbs of firm white fish (I used mahi mahi)
1 onion diced
2 limes
6 roma tomatoes
2 garlic cloves diced
2 bell peppers (I used the little mini bell peppers) diced
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1 hot pepper
1 can coconut milk
1 tbsp of tomato paste
3 tbsp dende oil
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Farofa
1/2 cup of casava flour
1 garlic clove diced
2 tbsp olive oil
1. Cut the fish into large, even chunks and marinade in the juice of 1 lime, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp each of salt and pepper for 30 minutes
2. Blanch tomatoes in boiling water for 1 minute then transfer to an ice bath. Peel off the tomato skins and dice the tomatoes
3. In a clay moqueca pot (or a large dutch oven if you're not in Brazil) on high heat, sweat the onions and garlic with the olive oil. After onions turn translucent, add the hot peppers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and tomato paste. Cook on high for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the coconut milk and dende oil and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add fish simmer until fish is cooked all the way through (about 4 minutes). At the last minute, add the cilantro and squeeze in the juice of 1 lime. Serve over rice.
Farofa
1. Heat skillet on high with the olive oil and saute garlic for 2 minutes or until fragrant. Add the casava flour and toss to coat. Toast this for 3-4 minutes or until brown. Serve with meat skewers, moqueca, tacos, salad, beans, rice or anything that you want to add some crunch.
Excellent food blog!
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