Best Moqueca Capixaba Recipes

Brazilian Fish Stew (Moqueca Capixaba) image

Yield Makes 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 15

8 (6-ounce) pieces skinless hake or Pacific cod fillet (1/2 to 1 1/4 inches thick)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped bottled malagueta peppers or 1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic (3 cloves)
2 teaspoons salt
1 pound extra-large shrimp in shell (16 to 20 per pound), peeled and deveined, reserving shells if making soft manioc polenta as accompaniment
1 1/2 pound tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped yellow bell pepper
2 yellow plantains, peeled and each cut diagonally into 8 pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Accompaniments: soft manioc polenta ; malagueta pepper sauce

Steps:

Pat fish fillets dry and put in a bowl. Stir together lime juice, malagueta peppers, 1 tablespoon garlic, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, then pour over fish and toss to combine. Marinate, covered and chilled, 30 minutes. Add shrimp and chill at least 30 minutes but no longer than 1 1/2 hours more.
Put tomatoes in bottom of a wide 5- to 6-quart heavy pot. Top with onion and remaining tablespoon garlic, then sprinkle with bell peppers. Place plantains on top of vegetables. Sprinkle evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Arrange fish in 1 layer on top of plantain. Sprinkle cilantro and parsley over fish, then arrange shrimp in 1 layer over herbs, reserving marinade. Pour oil and marinade evenly over mixture in pot.
Bring to a simmer, then cover pot. Adjust heat to gently simmer until vegetables are softened and have released liquid and fish is just cooked through, about 20 minutes.
Serve stew over soft manioc polenta .

MOQUECA CAPIXABA image

Yield 10

Number Of Ingredients 13

3½ lbs wild caught Pacific cod steaks
Juice of two limes
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp urucum powder(AKA colorau)
2 bunches chopped cilantro
2 bunches chopped scallions
1 medium onion, minced
1 lb cleaned deveined medium shrimp
½ cup olive oil
1½ lbs chopped skinless Roma tomatoes
Crushed red pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced

Steps:

Rinse cod fish and pat dry. Place fish in a bowl then add salt, pepper and lime juice. Let stand for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile peel tomatoes by cutting off the top woody part and make a cross cut at the other end. Dip them in boiling water for a minute or so until skin curls. Remove from water. Let tomatoes cool. Remove skin then chop and place in a bowl. Using a wide deep skillet, add three tablespoons of olive oil and sauté onion and garlic until translucent. Add urucum powder (colorau) and stir for a minute or so to tint red. Stir to avoid burning or sticking. Make a layer of tomato, scallion and cilantro at the bottom of the pan (use about half of the cilantro and scallion for this). Add cod fish in one single layer above tomatoes. Drizzle remaining fish juices over everything. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper to taste. Add remaining cilantro, tomato, scallion and olive oil. Cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes in high heat. Avoid stirring to prevent fish from breaking apart. Instead shake pan a few times while cooking to gently mix. For the last minute scatter shrimp over stew and re-cover. When shrimp are done, the dish is ready. Serve with white rice and crab pirão, made the same way as shrimp pirão by just substituting crab for shrimp