Maid in Brazil.

Brazilians eat at home way more often than we do in the States. One reason, is that food made by others is either it's way to expensive for some of the population to afford or it's because so many people have "empregadas" (maids) and "babas" (nannys), who work from early in the morning until the night performing houshold tasks -- cleaning and cooking, and, in the case of babas, helping to take care of the kiddies.

Many of the maids are from the poor north of Brazil. Indeed, many of the laborers in town seem to be northerners. including Francisca, who is 35, lovely and bright as a shiny new Real (Brazilian coin). She spent a couple of evenings teaching me to cook like they do in her hometown, Liseux, Ceara (in Brazil's northeast).

Francisca began working as a baba when she was nine years old, living with a family far away from hers, also in the state of Ceara. When she was 17, with her own baby (her boyfriend, who she called her husband, was killed in a car accident), she moved to the slums of Rio de Janeiro to live and work.

Moqueca de Peixe

Also called “muqueca,” this is a fish (or shrimp) stew customarily prepared in a black clay pot or “panela de barro.” We used a fish called “namorado,” a sea bass, but any firm fleshed, mild fish, such as tilapia, will work wonderfully.

I don’t know why they call this fish “namorado” – which means boyfriend.  In the U.S. we would call this fish sand perch, a type of sea bass – white fleshed and mild. Apparently namorado lives in deep waters with sandy bottoms and is native to the east coast of Brazil.

Moqueca stew is served with a thickened sauce (or a roux) made from some of the fish broth of moqueca and “farinha” – a manioc flour –and with a side of farofa, a mixture of the manioc flour, fried with onion and oil.  Serve it all with cooked, white fluffy rice.

Note: When Dora (cousin Evelyn's hairdresser, who does hair in homes) tasted the moqueca, she closed her eyes, put her thumb and index finger together and ran it across her lips – the uniquely Brazilian gesture signifying “delicious.”)

1 kilo of fish (namorado) without skin and bones, left in large pieces (about 6 inches by 2 inches)

Juice of one lime

Salt to taste

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 plum tomatoes, cut in into 1/4-inch dice

1  1/2 cups chopped green peppers

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup tomato sauce

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

200 ml coconut milk (it comes in a jar or can), about 1 3/4 cups

1 Tbsp. dende oil

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, garnish

Place fish in a bowl and add the lime juice and salt to taste. Turn the fish several times to coat well.  Set aside.

Place the oil in a large saucepan. Add the tomatoes, green pepper, onions, tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Place the pot over medium-low heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes until the vegetables softened.

Raise the heat to medium-high until the liquid comes to a boil. Arrange the fish in the vegetables and cover the pot. Cook for 10 minute until the fish is just cooked through.  Drizzle the coconut milk over the fish and turn the pot to distribute the milk. Cook 5 minutes more. Adjust salt and pepper and serve hot garnished with cilantro and with rice and pirao and farofa on the side.  Makes 8 servings.

Pirao

It’s kind of a side dish gravy, always served alongside the moqueca (pronounced pee-ra-ohn).

1 1/2 cups broth from moqueca

1/4 cup farinha (manioc flour)

Salt to taste

Bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Slowly, slowly dribble in the farinha, stirring or whisking all the while, until the mixture is thickened (this may be made ahead, though it will become quite thick when it cools – reheat adding more liquid (water or broth) to thin to pouring consistency.  Spoon over the moqueca.

Farofa

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 tsp. dende oil

1 Tbsp. chopped onion

1 cup farinha, manioc flour

Heat oils in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until golden. Add the flour and sauté for about 2 minutes. Serve warm as a garnish for the moqueca.