brazillian fish stew

Here is my food writing attempt: OMG you have to try this simply nourishing, delicious, easy, dairy and gluten free recipe!

Ooh I made something new - if you see Hoki on special try this. I hardly ever make something new and I seldom cook when both girls are awake. But they were sick so easily sorted with about 5 raisins each, sitting in their highchairs, hanging in the kitchen. Another miracle is having all the ingredients on hand for something you haven't tried before. This is an adaptation of Brazillian fish stew, Moqueca, I found on the internet. I wanted a fish soup that was dairy and thai curry paste free. It was so delicious and so easy only a few minutes of prep and stirring. The kids were sick so they didn't even eat the rice I had with it let alone the soup, my girls don't eat a lot of fish yet!

Most basic photo to give you an idea, maybe your imagination would have been better?!

 Ingredients:

• 600-700g hoki, cut into large pieces. A firm fish is recommended so cut each 

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 4 Tbsp lime or lemon juice

• Salt and pepper

• Olive oil

• 1 cup chopped spring onion, or 1 medium onion diced

• 1/2 yellow and 1/2 red capsicum, diced

• 1 can of whole tomatoes

• 1 Tbsp paprika (Hungarian sweet)

• 1 chopped chili/pinch of chili flakes

• 1 large bunch of coriander, chopped with some set aside for garnish

• 1/2 can coconut cream, then fill to the top with water (you can freeze the rest).

How to:

1. Place fish pieces in a bowl, add the minced garlic and lime juice so that the pieces are well coated. I didn't have enough juice in my old lime so I added a splosh of white vinegar.  So the fish was covered. Sprinkle generously all over with salt and pepper. Keep chilled while preparing the rest of the soup.

2. If you are planning on serving the soup with rice, start the rice.

 

3. Back to the soup. In a large pot, coat the bottom with about 2 Tbsp of olive oil (in fact I used rice bran oil) and heat on medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook with salt, a few minutes until softened. Add the capsicum, paprika, and chili. Cook for a few minutes longer, until the capsicum begins to soften. Stir in the chopped tomatoes. The original recipe adds some green onions here but I didn't have them or miss them. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered. Stir in the chopped coriander. Add the coconut cream and water and bring back to a boil. 

4. Add the hoki and then bring soup to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover, and let cook for about 5 minutes. Watch for when all the fish has turned white. You may want to add more salt, lime or lemon juice, paprika, pepper, or chili to get the soup for your taste. 

Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or with crusty bread.