Moqueca — a recipe — the first one

This is the first in hopefully a bunch of short notes about food, culture, friendship and our take on much of what is important in life. I will be doing these notes with my partner Vitoria. She will do the images and I will do the text.

It wont be a formal recipe blog but will have lots of tips to make great food and meals and reflections on where recipes come from and how they get passed on and developed over time- more importantly how they fit in my and Vitoria’s lives.

It will also be a homage to the amazing cooks that I have met over the years especially the Afro-Brazilian women that have taught me to make the key things — Dona Silvia, Dona Dirce Vitoria’s mother and many others. These are amazing warm and expert chefs that I have seen cook some amazing meals.

The basics

A moqueca fits between a bunch of categories in European food. It doesn't have as much sauce as a stew but the fish is cooked with the elements to make the sauce.

The word Moqueca has an interesting history that fits with its nature as a dish between both a stew and a dryer fried or sauteed fish dish. There is some discussion about whether moqueca comes from a tupi word to grill or cook on fire — the became the verb moquear or a kimbundo word Mo’keka. The Kimbundo word was already in use in Portugal early on during the colonization period in Brasil. Lisbon had a large African population early on in the colonizaton period.

The elements of the dish are without doubt very African — especially the use of palm oil as a seasoning.

Moqueca rather than just a dish is more a way of cooking that always includes some core elements, Coconut milk, palm oil (dende), onions, tomatoes and coriander, garlic and a principal star — fish, seafood, meat , brains and even eggs.

Nobody I know who cooks moqueca uses a recipe. Its a loose combination of the core ingredient and the ‘temperos’ — flavorings above. Bahian food traditions like most diaspora African traditions is passed on orally and by doing - not by reading about it or a formal recipe.

Everybody has their own approach and style to mocequa. I have noticed (this isnt very researched or scientific) that different regions of Bahia have different styles. In the south of Bahia is has more coriander and onions, in the region around Valenca and Camumu more palm oil.

There are a few additions that some add and some dont. Green Peppers is the most controversial. I dont put them in but some do.

So here is out basic way to make fish Moqueca (but you can adapt this for almost anything (sweetbreads/miolo needs special treatment):

Recipe — Prep

Get your fish — non-oily fish is best- with scales. Some people in Bahia dont eat fish without scales — this is a tradition that goes back a long way and is influenced many think by early Islamic traditions -these days Rastafarians for example still dont eat fish with skin (Ital).

The fish should be whole if its small or in steaks with the bone left in. Of course lots of exceptions here — skate is good in mocequa as is baby shark but they are harder to cook right. Avoid fish without bones.

Wash the fish (1kg) and marinade for two hours in the juice of two limes, garlic (a crushed clove) and salt.

Cut two onions and two tomatoes roughly (I like half rounds) and a big bunch of cut coriander. Prepare a tablespoon of diced garlic and a small piece of diced ginger.

Make your coconut milk. Take a dry whole coconut. The brown one! Crack it and remove the flesh. Cut up the flesh and liquidize with a half liter of hot water (but not boiling!) for 5 minutes. Strain really well.

Start to cook the Moqueca

Heat up an open pan, clay is best but can be anything. Wake up your palm oil/dende if its a bit solid or hard by warming it and then put 5 tablespoons in the bottom of the pot. Keep the pan hot but not smoking. Dende smokes/burns sooner than many oils.

Add the diced ginger to the bottom

Add the garlic to that

Fry for a 30 secs

Swirl to make sure the pan is coated in palm oil. Layer your fish, tomatoes, onions and coriander in the pan. Put a lid on it and cook on medium heat for about 15 mins.

After 15ms take a look and taste adjusting the salt….. add two more spoons of palm oil.

Finally add about 300ml of the coconut milk and cook for another 5mins.

Adjust your cooking time to your fish. You want it just done (i.e just firm) not falling apart!

Make a quick accompaniment called pirao or cassava puree (its really a porridge but that sounds weird).

Pirao- Take out a cup or so of the coconuty and palm oil colored liquid from your moqueca and add the rest of the coconut milk a few more spoons of palm oil and a bit more salt.

Put this liquid on the pot and when hot add in a constant stream (like making polenta) raw cassava flour (farina). until you have a thin porridge. Cook until l it thickens — say 10 mins. No lumps allowed — if you have lumps use a whisk!

Pirao is a bit like ugali and other African accompaniments just more liquid (and flavoured!).

That’s it moqueca! Our first recipie.

What do you think? How can we improve the blog? Is it clear? Whats you way of making moqueca?