This is a translation from the recipe in the following video (but I skipped the pirão):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbgNY-Gc8uk
This is not a traditional moqueca from Bahia or Espírito Santo, but it’s a remix of all the good parts from all of them and it’s my favorite recipe.
Serves 6
**Ingredients: ** **For the moqueca **
- Palm oil (or azeite de dendê if you have access to Brazilian groceries)- 10oz large shrimp (shell on, no head)
- 3lb salt water fish that isn’t too delicate (snapper or black sea bass are my favorites, in Brazil we use a type of shark)
- 2 red bell peppers (cut in rings)
- 2 yellow bell peppers (in rings)
- 3 medium onions, 2 in rings, 1 small dice
- 4 to 5 large tomatoes, well ripened
- 3 large waxy potatoes such as yukon gold or reds, cut in slabs
- up to 8 mix of spicy and non spicy peppers you like (I like jalapeño, habanero and shishito, when I don’t have access to Brazilian pimenta-de-cheiro and malagueta), please don’t skip
- Cilantro, a whole bunch or two.
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- Half a can of coconut milk
- Salt to taste
For the marinade
- 4 garlic cloves
- Juice of 4 limes
- 1Tbs salt
- 1Tbs black pepper
- 1Tbs achiote (optional)
**Steps:
**Mix the fish, shrimp with the marinade and let it sit for 30 min.
Heat a BIG claypot (or a dutch oven / cast iron steel pan), add 2 tbs of palm oil / dendê, mix the garlic and the diced onions. Let it get fragrant, add the peppers, and cook until the oil gets hot and your house smells like heaven.
Once that is going, it’s time to assemble. Add all the potato in the bottom in a layer, then add a layer of veggies (bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, cilantro to taste, so long that means a LOT of it), then fish, then vegetables, etc. Make sure that the last layer is veggies. Then add the liquid from the marinade into the pan. Note, do NOT put the shrimp in yet. Top with more dendê, to taste. Put on a lid and cook for 40min to 1h, until everything is well cooked.
Once that’s done, top with shrimp, close the lid, and cook until the shrimp is no longer gray, 4 to 5 minutes. Stop the burner, open the lid and top with the coconut milk, also to taste. Lightly mix the top of the liquid so the milk is well incorporated.
Top with more cilantro and serve with rice, lime and cassava flour (like this).