Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds red grouper, cut into 2-inch pieces (or substitute redfish, flounder, striped bass, escolar or any other white fleshed fish)
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup dende oil (Brazilian palm oil) or olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cups roughly chopped tomatoes, plus 2 tomatoes sliced into 1/4-inch rounds, divided
- 1/2 cup fish stock or water
- 2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 1/4 cup Piri Piri, recipe follows
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- Steamed white rice, as an accompaniment
Directions
Put the fish in a large nonreactive mixing bowl along with the lime juice and set aside for 20 minutes.
Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the dende/olive oil to the pan, and once hot, add the onions and saute, stirring often until translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the minced garlic to the pan and saute for an additional 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste, chopped tomatoes, fish stock and 1 teaspoon of the salt to the pan and stir well to incorporate. Bring to a boil, and add the fish with the lime juice, as well as the Piri Piri, and the coconut milk; stir to combine.
Once the liquid comes to a boil, dot the top of the pan with the sliced tomatoes and cover with a lid. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to cook until the flesh starts to flake, about 10 minutes. Remove the cover and sprinkle the cilantro over the fish. Season with the remaining salt, if needed. Serve with the rice.
For the Piri Piri:
- 1 tablespoon, plus 1/2 cup olive oil
- 5 cloves garlic, smashed
- 4 cayenne chile peppers, stemmed, ribs and seeds removed, and roughly chopped (or substitute other hot red peppers)
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Heat a small saute pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and peppers to the pan. Saute, stirring often, until the edges of the garlic start to turn brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lemon juice and remove from the heat.
Place the contents of the saute pan into a blender and add the salt. Puree the peppers and garlic until mostly smooth. With the motor running, drizzle the remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil through the feed tube of the lid of the blender. Let cool before using, and store refrigerated in an airtight container.
Yield: 3/4 cup
Photo: Moqueca-Brazilian Fish Stew Recipe
















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By mdtkennedy
on October 15, 2011
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As Brazilian, this recipe is ok but not exactly what would works. The pepers , onions, cilantro leaves must be chopped and saute in a mix of dende oil and olive oil.Add the tomatoes and coconut milk and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. After this you will add the fish ( must be a firm flesh fish. You don't need to add any water.Let this cook until the fish is tender.
You can also do in layers, sliced onions , pepers, tomatoes fish, cilantro, last layer must be fish, coconut milk and lemon juice and dende oil with olive oil. With a lid, cook in medion-low until fish is tender.
By danielm_12724279
Seattle, 87
on March 09, 2010
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I read the other Moqueca recipe that Emeril offered which did NOT have dende oil, without which this is simply any old fish stew. If Valanna used dende oil (which is absolutely delicious THAT was probably the "funny smell" that she mentions. Crude palm oil (dende oil is a common feature of Afro-Brazilian cuisine. And a wonderful one at that.
By valannarae
hol.,fl
on February 27, 2009
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I used red hot peppers instead for the piri piri. It hade a bit of a funny smell I"m guessing the lemon/lime and tomato mixed together but it was different and satisfying!
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