Moqueca de peixe - Brazilian fish stew.
This recipe's very flexible, but must contain:
Fish (duh)
Coriander
Lime
Coconut milk.
It's not 'authentic' without coriander but if you don't like it, replace it with parsley or tarragon.
For 4 people:
About 800g white fish
A large onion
2 cloves of garlic
Fresh coriander, two big handfuls
Fresh parsley, one handful
1 lime
200ml coconut milk (half a tin)
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
1 large tomato
1 tablespoon of palm oil, or any cooking oil
200ml fish stock and/or white wine
Salt.
Cut the fish into pieces about 5cm square. Put them in a bowl with the zest and juice of the lime, salt lightly and leave in the fridge for an hour.
Chop the onion and soften it in the oil over a low heat. Don't let it brown. Add the garlic, the sliced peppers and sliced tomato. When they've softened a little, add half your coriander and let it wilt. Stir in the stock or wine, the coconut milk, and add the fish with its juice and the parsley.
Simmer very gently. It mustn't boil. You'll have to stir it because coconut milk burns. You can cook it for as little as 10 minutes. Longer cooking develops the flavours; add more stock/wine if it's getting dry. Taste to see if you want more seasoning (I usually add paprika). Throw in the rest of the coriander just before serving.
It's usually served with white rice - you can add the rest of the coconut milk when it's nearly cooked - and salsa.
To make the salsa:
Onion, peeled cucumber, tomatoes and a hot pepper. Chop them all up very small, mix together with a small amount of oil, and serve in a bowl. This is also flexible: you can add peppers and herbs, and bulk it out with cabbage and whatnot if you'd rather make it into a side dish than a garnish.