Angolan cuisine is the cuisine of Angola, a country in south-central Africa. Because Angola was a Portuguese colony for centuries, Portuguese cuisine has significantly influenced Angolan cuisine, with many foods imported into Angola by the Portuguese.
Moqueca is an Angolan and Brazilian seafood stew. Moqueca is typically made with shrimp or white fish as a base with tomatoes, onions, garlic, lime and coriander.
Serves: 4
Preparation time:20 minutes
Cooking time:20 minutes
3 tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion diced
1 jalapeno diced
1 medium red bell pepper seeds removed and sliced
1 medium yellow bell pepper seeds removed and sliced
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
¼ teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 pounds cod or other firm white fish, cut into large 1-2 inch pieces
1 13 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups seafood stock or vegetable stock
13 ounce can coconut milk full fat
1 lime zested + lime cut into wedges
2 green onions chopped, for garnish
Brazilian Rice
2 tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 cup yellow onion diced
1 garlic clove finely chopped
1 cup jasmine rice washed and rinsed
2 cups vegetable stock
½ teaspoon kosher salt to taste
Bring a large pot top medium heat and add the olive oil,the chopped onion and jalapeño and saute for 2-3 minutes until softened. Add the sliced bell peppers and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add the chopped garlic, paprika and cayenne and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes with their juices, tomato paste and stir everything together and cooking for another 2-3 minutes.
Season the fish with salt and pepper and place the fish on top of the vegetables.
Pour the coconut milk and seafood stock into the pot and add the lime zest and season with salt and pepper. Gently mix the content.
Cover the pot. Over low heat, cook the moqueca for 10-15 minutes until the fish is just cooked through and soup has reduced slightly.
Remove moqueca from the heat and taste for seasoning. Serve moqueca on top of cooked jasmine rice and garnish with green onions and lime wedges.
Brazilian Rice
Bring a small pot to medium heat and add olive oil, chopped onion and saute until lightly caramelized, about 3-5 minutes.
Add the jasmine rice and saute so all of the rice is coated with oil.
Pour in the vegetable stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring the rice to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cover with a lid. Continue cooking the rice for about 20 minutes, until the liquid has evaporated.
When cooked, fluff the rice with a fork and serve with moqueca.
Home-made Peri Peri Sauce is used as dips, accompaniments, marinades or even spreads. This Nandos style Piri Piri Sauce is easy made. PERi-PERi, also known as the African Bird’s Eye Chilli, is the key to our legendary, flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken. It’s grown in the African soil, so the magic starts from the ground up.
Serves: 8
Preparation time:30 minutes
Cooking time:30 minutes
2 large red bell peppers, char grilled
1 large red onion, char grilled
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
zest of one lemon, finely grated
10 small red Thai chilis, roughly chopped (more to taste for hotter sauce)
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, or plain paprika
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
To finish the sauce (when cooked)
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest of one lemon, finely minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Start by roasting the red peppers and onions. This can be done on a gas grill, under the broiler or on a cast iron grill pan. You want to get good char marks on the outside of the peppers and onions. Don't worry if they are not fully cooked, they will get fully cooked in the sauce.
Chop the peppers and onions and add them to a food processor or blender. You can us an immersion blender if that is all you have on hand, just take the time to get the ingredients well pureed.
Add the garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, lemon zest, red Thai chilis, smoked paprika, oregano, salt and pepper to the food processor with the grilled onions and peppers and puree until smooth.
Transfer the sauce to a medium saucepan, add the bay leaves and simmer slowly for 20-30 minutes.
Let the sauce cool to warm. Remove the bay leaves then return the sauce to the food processor again.
Add the additional lemon juice, red wine vinegar and lemon zest. Puree for another few minutes until very smooth. Slowly add in the olive oil in a thin stream as the processor is running.