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Salmon Fish Stew, Brazilian Style Recipe

Filed under Main Course, Seafood, Soup and Stew, Wheat-free

Salmon Fish Stew, Brazilian Style

In Bahia in Northern Brazil, there is a savory fish stew called "Moqueca" that they make with local fish. Fernanda Guimaraes Rosa, who writes the Brazilian food blog Chucrute com Salsicha, brought a Vancouver friend's salmon version of Moqueca to our Sacramento food blogger gathering a while ago, and it was wonderful, my favorite dish of the day. The salmon is marinated first with lime juice, paprika, and cumin, and then simmered with onions, tomatoes, and bell peppers, in coconut milk. It was even better the next day.

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Salmon Fish Stew, Brazilian Style Recipe

Ingredients

Marinade:

The cloves from 1/2 head of garlic, peeled, crushed, minced
2 Tablespoons of fresh lime juice
3/4 teaspoon of coarse salt
1 Tablespoon of sweet paprika
2 1/2 teaspoons of dry cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper

Other:

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of salmon, cut into 2-inch pieces (largish-bite sized pieces)
Olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
1 large bell pepper, seeded, de-stemmed, and sliced
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 14-ounce can thick coconut milk
1 large bunch fresh cilantro, chopped, 1-2 cups

Freshly cooked rice for serving

Method

1 Mix together the marinade ingredients. Let the salmon marinate in this paste for at least 2 hours. The longer, the better.

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2 In a large pan (large covered skillet or Dutch oven), coat the bottom of the pan with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add a layer of sliced onions, and then a layer of sliced bell peppers, and a layer of sliced tomatoes. Place the fish pieces, with the marinade, on top of everything, and start layering again - onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Add about half of your fresh cilantro to the top. Pour coconut milk over the top. Drizzle generously with olive oil over the top (several tablespoons).

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3 Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, until the vegetables are cooked through.

Serve with rice; garnish with remaining cilantro.

Serves 6-8.

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Posted by Elise on Mar 22, 2007 and indexed Fish, Fish Stew, Salmon, Seafood

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Comments

Fantastic -- I've had this recipe with other fish (in a Brazilian restaurant), but never with salmon. I'm so glad to know how to make it!

Posted by: lydia on March 23, 2007 3:42 AM

Elise,

Wow! If Mrs. seat of her Pants liked salmon as much as I do I'd be all over this dish!

Unfortunately for me, she's not a salmon fan at all. (Not surprising seeing that she was raised in West Texas and wasn't exposed to the lusciousness that is a good salmon.)

The marinade looks to be a bit acidic. Doesn't it start "cooking" the salmon befoer it ever sees the pot?

Posted by: Jerry on March 23, 2007 5:27 AM

Hi Jerry - Not only is the salmon marinated in lime juice for several hours, it's cooked for 30 minutes with the stew. In this recipe, the salmon gets well cooked. Normally when we make fish stew, we put the fish in only at the end for 5 minutes. This recipe is different, but it works in its own way. The salmon ends up being meatier, and more infused with the flavor of the marinade and the stew. I really did like it even better the next day when I reheated it. So go figure. It breaks the rules (at least the ones we follow) about cooking fish, but it tastes great.

Posted by: Elise on March 23, 2007 5:52 AM

This recipe looks great, however, my husband is not a salmon fan either. What other fish would you suggest?

Posted by: Anne Marie on March 23, 2007 7:10 AM

It's been years since I've had moqueca and never had a recipe for it, until now. Love this dish. It was always made with some kind of meaty, mild white-fleshed fish.

Rice prepared the Brasilian way is a must! It always starts out with sauteing the rice and finely chopped onion in a little oil for a couple of minutes and then, adding the water to finish cooking as usual. So good!

Posted by: Lydia Sugarman on March 23, 2007 9:11 AM

I might have missed something when reading the recipe...

Is the salmon sliced/diced? I am trying to make it out fro the photos. The recipe doesn't specify otherwise, yet the photos doesn't look like salmon fillets.

Posted by: Maggi on March 23, 2007 12:09 PM

The salmon is cut into pieces, about 2 inches wide if a fillet, or an inch wide if a steak. The photo looks like a paste because we were working with fillet pieces and they were covered in marinade. Generally you want large, bite sized pieces. (Thanks for the questions, I updated the recipe.)

Posted by: Elise on March 23, 2007 1:20 PM

Mmmm... I remember that dish at the gathering. That was mighty tasty fish. She had to reheat it in my kitchen and the whole apartment smelled like it the whole day.
Lucky me!

Posted by: Garrett on March 23, 2007 2:25 PM

We're having guest over for dinner tomorrow. This recipe is so nice because one can prepare it a day ahead! The aroma from the stew is wonderful. I look forward to trying it tomorrow night!

P.S. I love the tip on sauteing the white rice with onions and a little oil before adding the water. Sort of like the way spanish rice is prepared. Thanks!
Flora

Posted by: Flora on March 24, 2007 7:21 PM

Hi Elise -
I made this yesterday for dinner tonight, and it was a hit with me and hubby! Kids (who could live off of $0.10 packaged ramen) didn't care for it because of the visible onions and green peppers, but that's fine, we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for another great one!

Posted by: Vicki on March 25, 2007 7:55 PM

I made this for Joan tonight. The seasoning was marvelous. I can't wait to try it tomorrow. Thanks, Elise, for yet another winner.

-A-

Posted by: Adam Hertz on March 25, 2007 8:30 PM

We made this recipe tonight and it was wonderful...only added rinsed can of black beans to the rice and an additional red pepper to the one green bell pepper. Thank you for a true "keeper"!

Posted by: Caroline on March 25, 2007 9:32 PM

Salmon has a very complex flavor on it's own, I lived in Brazil for a few years and there the Moqueca is made with a very meaty white flesh fish, which has a much more subdued flavor. I'll give a try to the Salmon but make it with a white fish, you'll love it.

Posted by: beatrix kiddo on March 26, 2007 7:22 AM

Tried this at the weekend, it was absolutly fantastic! Thanks for the recipe. :o)

Posted by: Darren on March 29, 2007 4:57 AM

I tried this last night and it was terrific. I can't wait for the leftovers tonight... Thanks !

Posted by: Gigi on March 29, 2007 10:12 AM

Elise, this really is fantastic huh? I never had it with salmon though, Fer did such a great job substituting. Did you make your rice the Brazilian way? I sauté garlic in hot oil, then I add rice and stir-fry well, add salt, then water and boil. When the water level drops, I cover the pan and lower the heat. When the rice is cooked, I turn off the heat and let the rice rest for about 10 minutes... :-)

Posted by: Cris on March 30, 2007 10:51 AM

Made this dish for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Hubby and one of 2 children loved it (other child is pickier, so we expect he won't like things). I made it with "lite" coconut milk and red pepper instead of green and served it over brown rice. The flavors were so good together. I'll definitely make it again.

Posted by: Lynn on March 30, 2007 8:44 PM

I made this last night for my husband and father. It couldn't have been easier to make, and we were all very happy. At one point my (crazy) husband pounded his fists in his lap and said, "Now that's good!" Thanks so much. We appreciate something a little different during what can be a very long lent.

Posted by: Meredith Kelly on March 31, 2007 10:04 AM

I made this recipe last night. It couldn't have been simpler. I used a salmon filet from Costco, jarred minced garlic, and red bell pepper instead of green. I served it with basmati rice, and some white wine. A huge hit. I am going to make it again with prawns, and maybe add a little hot pepper.

Posted by: stuminator on April 1, 2007 1:52 PM

We made this last night and it was a big hit! Yum!

Posted by: felicity on April 3, 2007 10:43 AM

Elise, awesome flavor. I know the recipe called for fresh salmon but I decided I used 2 - 14.5 oz. canned salmon, 2 extra tbsp of lime juice to the marinade, then "tossed" the salmon in the mix and let it stand for the 2 hrs. I saved 1/2 cup of the salmon out with its marinade and mixed with 3 chopped boiled eggs for egg salad sandwiches. I have to say I was surprised at the flavor combo but it was *delicious*. I have been coming to your site now for a year and always recommend it to my friends. With this and a couple other food blogs I enjoy, I don't need to keep a library of cook books on the shelf anymore LOL. Keep up the great work!!!! Thanks so much.

Posted by: Sabina on April 3, 2007 9:43 PM

Made this last night - awesome! And so easy :)

Posted by: Kristin on April 4, 2007 4:35 AM

Very nice! Would be even better with some jalapeno bits in the stew.

Posted by: adam on April 15, 2007 6:25 PM

I used mahi mahi instead of salmon and it came out pretty nice. Delicious dish and quite easy. Highly recommend it :)

Posted by: Catrice dela Calzada on May 6, 2007 6:24 PM

Thank you for this delicious recipe!Highly recommended.

Posted by: Monika on August 22, 2007 8:43 PM

Hi Chaps, Love the recipe but you have overlooked one important ingredient - palm oil. Is this because of the health aspect? Pail Oil may be an evil saturated vegetable oil, but you only need a spoonful to give it its authentic taste.

Posted by: Nando Cuca on February 24, 2008 4:28 PM

I'm going to make this tomorrow night for dinner. It looks fabulous and so easy! My question is.....is there a substitution for tomatoes? I'm allergic. Thanks.

Posted by: Mika on March 15, 2008 9:58 AM

This is the best recipe I have ever tried. The flavor was superb. All of my guest were impressed and want me to make it again.

Sincerly,

Bob Raymond

Posted by: Bob Raymond on May 5, 2008 9:38 AM

I´m a bit late. But I read this recipe just now and I must say, as I did moqueca recipe so many times, something about this great dish - these recipe is normally made with a white fish, such as sea bass. Mahi mahi or shrimps or a combination of these will do marvelously.
The fish should be cut with the bones, in rounds steaks of 2,5 cm of width. Cooked over low heat, cover, just to a simmer will help to bring together the flavours. The palm oil that we call "azeite de dende", only a tablespoon makes a lot of difference such as a fresh red hot chile pepper, cut into narrow arounds. My choice is to use red and yellow pepper instead of green pepper, the color came out great and the green pepper flavour is not so delicate. Someone asks if can skip the tomatos, yes it would came out fine only a little pale. The side dish for moqueca is the white rice recipe below
Serves 4
In a 2,5 l heavy pan, add 1 tbs canola e corn oil. Sautée in one medium chopped onion (one can use only garlic or a combination of garlic and onion) till traslucent, add 1 cup white rice. Stir to coat the grains with the oil, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups boiling water, season with one tsp salt. Mix to dissolve the salt. Cover, lower the heat to low and cook until all the water is absorved. Take of the lid, with a fork gently loosens the rice.Turn off the heat and let it rest for 15 minutos, lid on.

Posted by: Cristina Róseo on May 5, 2008 4:54 PM

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