Moqueca Express — Brazilian Coconut Fish Stew
Chunks of white fish dropped into a coconut and pepper broth and left completely alone until they turn opaque.
Why it works
The fish goes in last and is never stirred, so it poaches in the coconut milk and holds together in proper chunks. Salting it with lime while you build the base draws out surface water and firms the flesh, which is the difference between chunks and flakes. Rice is not a garnish here but the point of the dish — it goes on before the pan does and soaks up a broth far too good to leave in the bowl.
Method
- Boil the kettle. Put the rice, salt and boiling water in a small pan, bring back to the boil, clamp on a lid and cook on the lowest heat for 10 minutes, then leave it covered off the heat. Toss the fish with the lime juice and salt in a bowl and leave it while you cook the base.
- Heat the oil in a wide, deep frying pan. Cook the onion and peppers over a medium-high heat for 5 minutes, until floppy and colouring at the edges.
- Add the garlic, paprika and coriander stalks, stir 1 minute, then the tomatoes for 2 minutes more, pressing them down until they collapse.
- Pour in the coconut milk, pile in the greens and bring to a bare simmer. Season and bubble gently 2 minutes, until the greens have wilted into the sauce and it thickens.
- Slide the fish in in one layer, spoon sauce over the top, and cover. Cook 4 minutes without stirring. It is done when the chunks are opaque to the centre and part easily under a spoon.
- Fork the rice loose into four warm bowls. Scatter the stew with chilli and coriander leaves and ladle it over the rice, with lime wedges to squeeze.
For the toddler
This one needs little changing. Toss a chunk of fish with lime and no salt at step 1, cook it with the rest, and lift their portion at step 4 before you season the pan. The chilli only arrives as a garnish at step 6, so leave it off theirs. Flake the fish carefully for bones, cut the peppers into soft finger-length strips, and spoon it over plain rice.
How the toddler notes workChef’s notes
Raw prawns need 3 minutes, not 4. Firm tofu works, as does butternut given 8 minutes before the coconut milk goes in.
Frozen sliced peppers go in straight from the bag.
Farofa — toasted cassava flour — for scattering over each bowl, and a plate of sliced orange with salt and chilli to cut the coconut.
Two days chilled. Reheat gently — a hard boil breaks the fish up.