Brazilian Fish Stew
Image: ANDREW MONTGOMERY
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Brazilian Fish Stew

This dish is inspired by moqueca – a Brazilian seafood stew – and it's one of those brilliantly convenient things to cook when you have friends over. You can prepare almost all of it in advance, so you don’t have to be working away in the kitchen while everyone else is knocking back the wine and catching up without you. It's recommended you use a mix of white fish and prawns, but you can use just fish or just prawns.
Image: ANDREW MONTGOMERY

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Serves
4-6
Total Time
1 Hour 15 Minutes
Ingredients
500g of firm white fish
450g of raw peeled prawns
Zest & juice of 2 unwaxed limes
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp of coconut oil
1 onion, thinly sliced into half moons
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
4 spring onions, sliced
1 tsp of chilli flakes
1 tsp of paprika
3 tomatoes, deseeded & chopped
1 x 400ml can of coconut milk
Salt & pepper
A handful of fresh coriander & lime wedges, to serve
Method
Step 1

Chop the fish into bite-sized chunks and put in a bowl with the prawns. Pour over the lime juice and sprinkle with the zest, half the chopped garlic and a teaspoon of salt. Mix and let marinate for an hour or so.

Step 2

While the fish is marinating you can get on with the rest of the stew, because it can happily sit until you are ready to eat – you just heat it up and add the fish just before you want to serve it. The fish will cook in moments.

Step 3

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and gently fry the onion until it is translucent. Add the peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the spring onions along with the remaining garlic, the chilli flakes and paprika. Occasionally push them gently around the pan so nothing sticks. Once the aroma of garlic and paprika starts to rise from the pan, add the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk and simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Step 4

You can then leave it covered on the hob, or cool it and put it in the fridge, until you want to eat. Or you can carry on and add the fish and the prawns straight away. If you have made the sauce in advance, reheat it gently until it comes back to a simmer, add the fish and prawns in their marinade and stir gently until the fish has turned opaque and the prawns pink – about 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve scattered with coriander, with lime wedges for squeezing.

 

Home Cooked by Kate Humble published by Gaia, £25 hardback (octopusbooks.co.uk) Photography by Andrew Montgomery

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