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Palm heart and plantain moqueca
Moqueca de palmito e banana-da-terra: Bahian coconut stew with dendê oil, peppers and lime
Moqueca is the great stew of Bahia, cooked in a clay pot with coconut milk, tomatoes, peppers and dendê, the red palm oil that gives Salvador's food its colour and flavour. Fish is usual on the coast, but moqueca de palmito e banana-da-terra, with heart of palm and ripe plantain, is a much-loved vegetarian version: sweet, tangy and fragrant with coriander and lime. Serve with white rice and farofa. Chef's tip: layer the vegetables rather than frying them, and add half the dendê at the start and half at the very end. The final splash keeps its fruity, nutty aroma, which is the real taste of Bahia.
- Total time
- 40 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix half the 1 limes juice with the 3 garlic cloves and a pinch of the 1 tsp salt. Toss the 14 oz hearts of palm (palmito) and 2 ripe plantains in it and leave for 10 minutes. Marinating is a Bahian habit; the lime brightens the plantain's sweetness.
10 minStep 2: Drizzle half the 1 ½ tbsp dendê (red palm oil) into a wide, heavy pan or clay pot. Lay in half the 1 onion, 3 tomatoes, 1 red pepper and 1 yellow or green pepper rings, and scatter over the 0.3 bunch fresh coriander stalks and 1 fresh red chilli.
Step 3: Arrange the palm hearts and plantain on top with their marinade, then cover with the rest of the onion, tomato and peppers. Don't stir; the layers steam in their own juice.
Step 4: Pour over the 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, season with the rest of the salt and bring to a gentle simmer over a medium heat. Cover and cook for 15–18 minutes, shaking the pan now and then rather than stirring, until the peppers are soft and the plantain is tender when pierced but holds its shape.
18 minStep 5: Uncover, drizzle over the rest of the 1 ½ tbsp dendê (red palm oil) and the remaining 1 limes juice, and simmer 2 minutes more. The sauce should be a glossy orange. Taste for salt and lime.
2 minStep 6: Scatter with the 0.7 bunch fresh coriander leaves and bring the pot to the table. Serve with white rice and farofa to soak up the sauce.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 410 kcal
- Protein
- 6 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does palm heart and plantain moqueca take?
- About 40 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of limes?
- Lemon, same amount.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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