Brazil: Moqueca do Frutos del Mar (Seafood Stew)

Brazil: Moqueca do Frutos del Mar (Seafood Stew)

The original recipe from my copy of The South American Table cook book was made to serve 8 and contained 4 lobster tails, 16 large shrimp, 1-1/2 lbs. of white fish and a pound of mussels. That was WAY out of my budget this week (I normally would never pass up the chance to have lobster) but I still really wanted to make this recipe to serve after having a light snack of my Shrimp Empanadas, staying with the Brazilian theme. I was able to pare the recipe down to 4 servings pretty easily and in my freezer was a pound of bay scallops, a couple pieces of flounder, and ½ lb. of medium shrimp. The first ½ lb of shrimp went into the empanadas so that worked out quite nicely. I was pleasantly surprised that the flavor of the coconut milk didn’t dominate this stew. Instead each ingredient seemed to compliment and even enhance the others. There aren’t any words to describe how wonderful this was even though it was sans lobster. I do hope you will give this a try. It’s very versatile, hearty but not heavy and very easy to make. This is a great variation on clam or seafood chowder.

There are two main condiments that are on every table in Brazil, farofa and molho de pimento e lima (Chile-Lime Sauce). Farofa is used in Brazil like parmesan cheese is used in Italy. It is made from toasted manioc a.k.a. yucca root a.k.a. cassava. The cookbook I used suggested plain toasted bread crumbs as a substitute. The hot sauce is typically made with malagueta peppers but any small fiery red chile can be used. I personally loved a little of the hot sauce drizzled over my stew but did not care for the farofa here. I could see topping a nice piece of fish with it or using it to flavor and thicken a tomato based soup or stew but it just didn’t jive with me in this case. I’ve included recipes for both in case you’d like to try them. Enjoy!

Recipe: Moqueca do Frutos del Mar 
             (Brazilian Seafood Stew)

Adapted from The South American table by Maria Baez Kijac

Ingredients

½ c. of fish stock or clam juice

1-1/2 T. olive oil or dende (palm oil) if you have it

1 cup onions, diced

1 small poblano or green bell pepper, finely diced

1 small red bell pepper, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

¼ cup cilantro (or parsley), chopped

½ cup of canned, unsweetened coconut milk

Tabasco, to taste

Salt and black pepper to taste

1-1/2 T. olive oil or dende

½ lb. shrimp, peeled and de-veined

2-6 oz. fish filets

1lb. bay scallops

½ c. of fish stock or clam juice

¼ cup scallions

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic and cook, stirring a few times, for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cilantro, coconut milk, and hot pepper sauce taste, then cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Set aside. The sauce can be prepared the day before, cooled and refrigerated.

In another large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring until the shrimp just turn pink. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the bay scallops to the pan and cook, stirring until the scallops are just cooked through. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to the shrimp. Lightly dredge pieces of white fish in flour, tapping off any excess, and cook on both sides for a couple of minutes until lightly colored. Add the shrimp, scallops and sauce to the pan with the fish. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 5 minutes. If the stew becomes too thick, thin it with a little seafood stock or clam juice. There should be enough sauce to just coat the seafood: this is not a soupy stew. Taste and re-season with salt and pepper if desired.

Molho de Pimenta e Lima (Pepper and Lime Sauce)

Ingredients

4 small fresh or dry hot chile peppers, seeded and chopped

1 small onion, chopped (about ½ cup)

1 clove garlic, chopped

½ cup fresh lime or lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

Directions

Place all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and let stand 1 hour at room temperature before serving. This sauce does not keep well as it has a tendency to ferment. It’s best to make it the same day you will use it.

Recipe: Farofa de Ouro (Golden Manioc Meal)

Ingredients

2 cups manioc meal or fine dry bread crumbs

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

4 hard cooked eggs

Salt

8 black olives for garnish

Directions

In a large, heavy skillet, toast the manioc meal or bread crumbs over low heat, stirring constantly, until it begins to turn pale beige. Remove from the heat.

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the toasted manioc/bread crumbs slowly, stirring so that it doesn’t burn, and cook until all of the butter is absorbed and there are no clumps. Remove from heat.

Peel the eggs, cut in half lengthwise, and remove the yolks. Chop the whites and set aside. Finely chop the yolks and add to the farofa. Season with salt to taste. Transfer to a bowl and decorate with egg whites and olives.