moqueca

since i've never had moqueca, it was pretty unlikely that i would be able to tell whether this tasted "right." although i've definitely been venezuelan in a past life, i don't know whether i've ever lived in bahia (i guess the best way to figure that out is to go there and see if it feels familiar ... plane ticket please!), and its been so long since tom has been there that he didn't really quite remember what it tasted like either.

so.

i don't know whether it was moqueca, but it was pretty good!

ingredients

about 2 lbs red snapper (although they say any white fish will do)

1 lime

1 small tomato roughly chopped, 2 medium tomatoes sliced into thin rounds

2 bell peppers (1 green and 1 red) sliced into thin rounds

a lot of roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1 small onion roughly chopped, 1 large onion sliced into thin rounds

2 garlic cloves

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup dende oil (thanks diana!)

1 C coconut milk (i used light coconut milk. mistake, mistake. it's just coconut milk mixed with water, and i never would have added a bunch of silly water to the moqueca ... it made it a lot more like a soup and less like a stew. next time i won't let health interfere with consistency. )

pickled jalapeños thinly chopped
salt to taste.

directions

cut fish into 2-inch pieces.

in the food processor: 1 small tomato, 1 small onion, 1/3 C chopped cilantro, 1 t salt, 2 garlic cloves. mix w/ juice of 1 lime.

cover fish with this mix and marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour.

layer 1/2 of the bell peppers, tomatoes and onions & cilantro in a large saute pan.
cover layers w/ fish and marinade.
layer the other 1/2 of bell peppers, tomatoes, onions & cilantro on top of the fish. add jalapenos.

drizzle with olive oil and dende oil.

add coconut milk and salt, and more lime.

stir, cover and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.