
Moqueca is a typical Brazilian dish. It can be fish, shellfish or meat based. It is very popular on the Nordeste coast and there are many versions as cooks. The one that I present in this post is inspired by the moqueca as it is prepared in Bahía, with coconut milk. Traditionally, it has a beautiful golden yellow color, given by the red palm oil (Dende). Here, palm oil is replaced by tomato paste, to get a nice coral color.Another difference with the traditional moqueca: the amount of fresh tomatoes, which are the main ingredient in my variation of this recipe. You can serve it with rice and a salad, or with steamed vegetables.
From a nutritional standpoint, the prawns are low in calories while high in protein. Moreover, they are a source of Omega-3, phosphorus, selenium and vitamins B3 and B12. The tomatoes and green onions sauce will you provide antioxidants and coconut milk, with iron, manganese and copper. All this goodness in a nutritious, tasty and creamy dish. What more can you ask for?
Serves 2
- 300 gr peeled prawns
- 500 gr tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper
- 3 green onions
- 3 cloves garlic
- 225 ml coconut milk
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 lime
- 1 tbsp coriander, chopped
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
Directions
- Chop tomatoes and pepper into coarse dices.
- Finely chop the green onions and garlic. Fry them in a pan with high sides, using the vegetable oil.
- Add diced tomatoes, bell pepper, cayenne pepper and salt. Bring to the boil, turn down to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the coconut milk and tomato paste. When it is boiling again, add the prawns and poach them in the sauce for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat, sprinkl with lime huice and stirr thoroughly. Adjust seasoning if necessary
- Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
I wish you a nice culinary trip to Brazil!
Eleonora
Yum, I pinned this. It’s perfect for our Baja Fresh shrimp.
Thanks, Tracey
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are welcome, I am very happy you liked this! It is one of my favourite recipes. It is far from the original version, but way healthier 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person