Brazilian Moqueca: 30-Minute Coconut Fish Stew with Peppers and Lime for Weeknights

Toss the fish with the lime juice, garlic and salt in a bowl and let it marinate while you prep the vegetables, about 10 minutes.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds firm white fish fillets (cod, halibut or mahi-mahi), cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons lime juice, plus wedges to serve
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, sliced into rings
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
• 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 can (14 ounces) full-fat coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon dende (red palm) oil or extra olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Cooked white rice, to serve

Instructions

1. Toss the fish with the lime juice, garlic and salt in a bowl and let it marinate while you prep the vegetables, about 10 minutes.
2. Heat the olive oil in a wide deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add half the onion rings and cook 3 minutes until softened.
3. Layer half the peppers and half the tomato slices over the onions, then arrange the fish pieces on top in a single layer. Cover with the remaining onion, peppers and tomatoes.
4. Sprinkle with paprika, pour the coconut milk evenly over everything and drizzle with the dende oil. Do not stir; the layers cook in place.
5. Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, until the fish flakes easily and the peppers are tender. Gently shake the pan once or twice rather than stirring so the fish stays whole.
6. Taste the broth and adjust with more salt or lime juice. Scatter with cilantro.
7. Serve straight from the pot over white rice with lime wedges. Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge and reheat gently on the stove.
8. Moqueca is the signature stew of Bahia on Brazil's northeastern coast, where African, Indigenous and Portuguese cooking met in the same clay pot. The Bahian version leans on coconut milk and vivid red dende oil, while the Espirito Santo version further south skips both for a lighter tomato broth. Either way, the genius is the no-stir layering: fish, peppers and tomatoes steam in their own juices and the coconut milk, so a dinner that looks like a weekend project comes together in half an hour on a school night.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 410 kcal
• Protein: 36g
• Fat: 24g
• Carbohydrates: 14g
• Fiber: 3g
• Sugar: 7g
• Sodium: 690mg