Brazil Recipes – Lobster & Sea Bass Moqueca Stew
Serving: 4-6 servings
Preparation Time: 45 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 2 bunches fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 2 bunches fresh parsley, roughly chopped
- 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 large Sea Bass, cleaned
- 2 large lobsters, halved
- 10 tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 6 onions, chopped
- 4 green peppers, de-seeded and chopped
- 2 bunch spring onions spring onions, finely sliced
- 6 limes, halved
- 2 tbsp light olive oil
- 1 pint coconut milk
- 3 tablespoons light olive oil
- * ½ ladle dende oil
- 3 tablespoons salt
- Freshly ground pepper
Method
1. Roughly chop nearly all the coriander and spring onion, leaving enough for garnish. Place the coriander, parsley, garlic, tomatoes, onions, peppers, spring onions and salt into a large heavy bowl. With a pestle, mash together all ingredients, gradually squeezing in juice of limes.
2. Take both fish and slash diagonally 3 times on each side. Stuff some of the mixed vegetables and herbs into the slashes and the centre of the fish and close. Take the halves of lobster and cover with vegetables and herb mix, leaving around half for later.
3. Heat a large saute pan with the olive oil. Arrange sea bass and lobster (placing flesh side down) in the sauté pan. After 2 minutes, pour over the coconut milk and bring to a gentle bubble. After a further 2 minutes, turn over the fish and lobster. Add the remainder of the vegetable and herb mix.
4. Cook for a further 10 minutes, when the fish and lobster are tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
5. Transfer to a large serving dish and sprinkle with remaining coriander and spring onions.
Add dende oil (is available) in a slow circular motion over the top.
*Cook’s Note: Dende Oil is an African palm-oil, widely used in the Brazilian state of Bahia and is difficult to obtain elsewhere. The dish is just as delicious without it.
Recipe courtesy Aldaci Dada Dos Santos, Appears in Brazilian Food: Race, Class and Identity in Regional Cuisines
