Brazilians have been making Moquecas for 300 years. Here are two classic recipes plus tips and techniques for serving this fantastic meal.
Fresh fish evokes a perfume that you can fall in love with and Moqueca (pronounced mo-ke-ka) is that sort of perfume.
The smell of fresh herbs and spices wafting through the air, is utterly seductive. Married with a fine Sauvignon Blanc, or Reisling, and the planets begin to merge.
There are as many varieties of Moqueca, as there are fish. However there's only one Moqueca that reigns supreme.
Moqueca de Peixe A Baiana Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.5kg of fish (grouper, monkfish, kingfish, salmon, or mahi mahi)
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Salt
- Pimenta Malegueta (hot red chilis) finely chopped
- Qty flat leaf parsley and spring onions finely chopped
- Qty Coriander/Cilantro
- 4 or 5 tomatoes
- 2 red onions finely chopped
- Qty garlic paste
- Qty extra virgin olive oil
- The milk of one fresh coconut is traditional, about 600mls
- Dende oil
Method
- Finely chop the cilantro, parsley,spring onions, tomatoes and chillis. Set aside.
- Chop garlic, add salt, and continue chopping, until a paste forms (use a mortar and pestle if that's easier). Add to herbs.
- Prepare fillets on a separate plastic chopping board to avoid cross-contamination.
- Heat a large clay pot, over a low/medium flame
- Add mixed herbs, chillis, garlic and tomatoes
- As soon as you start to smell the perfume from the herbs filling the kitchen, add a splash of olive oil.
- Clean fish, descale and rinse thoroughly. Pat dry with a paper towel.
- Squeeze fresh lemon juice over the fish, season with salt, and carefully place over the herbs.
- Add coconut milk, and dende oil.
- Pop on the lid, and leave until cooked.
- When the flesh starts to leave the bone you know its ready. About 15-20 minutes.
- Serve direct to the table
- Open the lid and allow the perfume to escape at the table. It's a must.
Serve with plain white rice.
The key utensils and ingredients to make a good Moqueca are:
- A clay cooking pot
- Fresh ingredients
- Dende oil
The clay retains the heat, and keeps the sauce hot, as you ladle it out over the fish.
Fresh ingredients are integral to any fish dish, and especially so for Moqueca. Same day, fresh.
And lastly, dende oil releases an odor, flavour and taste that makes the dish. Without it, it doesn't really work. Dende oil (also called Palm Oil) can be purchased at South American specialty shops or online.
And if that's not enough, here is another delicious Moqueca recipe:
Moqueca de Camaroa Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 kg of prawns of various sizes
- 1 onion finely chopped
- Qty chopped parsley and cilantro
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 hot red chilli
- 1 cup of coconut milk
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tbsp dende oil
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp Urucum seeds
Method
- Shell, de-vein, wash, and leave prawns to drain
- Mix prawns with cilantro, parsley,onions, chilli, and lemon juice, and marinate for 30 minutes
- Place seeds of Urucum in a cooking vessel, preferably a clay pot
- Dry roast Urucum seeds, over a medium flame
- Cover with remaining ingredients
- As soon as the aroma begins to fill the kitchen add coconut milk, and dende
- Pop the lid on, and leave. Do not stir.
- Cook for 15 minutes
- Garnish with fresh parsley and cilantro
- With the lid on deliver direct to the table.
The key ingredients for Moqueca de Camerao are:
- Dende oil (but not too much)
- Seeds of Urucum
Urucum is an exotic fruit from the Amazon used by indigenous Brazilians to prevent heart disease, medicate skin irratations, colour and thicken dishes. The seeds only are used. As a replacement try using safflower, and rice flour, or cornstarch.
There are plenty of recipes for Moqueca de Camerao that leave the Urucum seeds out, which is your next best option.
Another dish worth having a look at is Vatapa. or Brazilian Chilli Crab with Banana flambe.
One last thing. It's traditional in Brazil to say a prayer before you eat Moqueca. Somehow, it just tastes better.
Bom apetite.
