Recipe - Moqueca De Peixe (Bahian Style Fish Stew)

3 Sprigs fr. cilantro
1 Mdsz ripe tomato,
quartered
One half Mdsz green bell
pepper, seeded
1 Mdsz onion, quart.
Salt and black pepper
2 pound Fish fillets (cod,
scrod,haddock,or any
white, firmfleshed
fish)
1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
One half cup Thin coconut milk*
2 tablespoon Dende*
2 tablespoon Peanut oil

*Heat a coconut in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes so
it will develop "fault lines. Remove from oven and,
holding it in a cloth (it will be hot) over a large
bowl, hit it along the fault lines with a hammer or
heavy mallet. The coconut will open. Reserve the
liquid, remove the meat from the shell and take off
the brown outer pieces with a pairing knife. Grate the
coconut meat, either with a hand grater or in a food
processor. Wrap in cheesecloth and pour One half cup warm
water over it while holding it over a bowl. Squeeze
the liquid from the coconut into the bowl. This is
thick coconut milk. Add the reserved coconut water and
grated coconut residue. This is the only way to get
the true Brazilian taste. Otherwise, you can buy a
bottle of coconut milk from specialty stores (and it
is pretty hideous). African markets in the United
States. Chop the coriander, tomato, pepper, and onion
in a food processor until you have a coarse paste.
Then place the mixture in a large, heavy skillet over
low heat. Add the salt and pepper and cook for 15
minutes. Add the fish fillets to the mixture and
continue cooking for an additional 5 to 7 minutes. Add
the remaining ingredients, stir and allow to simmer
for 5 minutes. Serve the moqueca hot with white rice
and Farofa.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini