Brazilian fish stew (moqueca)

Name: Brazilian fish stew (moqueca)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Latin American
Ingredients: 1½ lb frozen white fish fillets, thawed and cut into big chunks; 2 limes, juiced; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tsp salt; 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced; 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced; 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced; 3 tomatoes, sliced into rounds; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 tbsp paprika; 1 can coconut milk; ½ cup cilantro, chopped

Tender white fish layered with peppers, tomatoes and onion and gently simmered in lime and coconut milk, a bright, sunny stew from Brazil’s coast.

45 min total
25 min hands-on
Follow-a-recipe easy
Serves 4
About $3.99 a serving
450 calories
Gluten-free
Dairy-free

Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.

Ingredients

For 4 servings.

1½ lb frozen white fish fillets, thawed and cut into big chunks
2 limes, juiced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, sliced into rounds
1 can coconut milk
½ cup cilantro, chopped

From your pantry

1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp paprika

Each serving has about 450 calories, 31 g protein, 21 g carbs and 29 g fat, and costs about $3.99 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.

Missing something?

No limes? Lemons work.
No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
No red bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
No green bell peppers? Yellow bell peppers work.
No tomatoes? Roma tomatoes work.
No coconut milk? Light coconut milk works.
No cilantro? Fresh parsley works.

Steps

Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.

Cut the thawed fish into big chunks and toss it in a bowl with half the lime juice, the garlic and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Cover and leave it in the fridge for 10 minutes.
Timer: 10 min
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
While the fish sits, the onion and bell peppers and cut the tomatoes into rounds.
the oil into a large, wide pot. Layer half the onion, peppers and tomatoes in the bottom, lay the fish on top, and cover with the rest of the vegetables.
Dolly’s tip: The layers let the fish steam gently between the vegetables so it doesn’t fall apart.
the paprika and remaining salt into the coconut milk and pour it over everything.
Cover and over medium heat, then turn it down to low and cook for 15 minutes without stirring, until the fish flakes easily.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Food safety: Fish is done at 145°F, when the middle looks opaque and flakes apart easily with a fork.
Squeeze in the rest of the lime juice, scatter the cilantro over, taste the broth for salt, and spoon into bowls, fish and vegetables together.