Moqueca fish burger

Moqueca is a traditional Brazilian seafood stew flavoured with azeite de dendê (red palm fruit oil)*, bell peppers, coconut, lime and chilli- it also happens to be one of my all time favourite dishes. Here I’ve put a few untraditional twists on it; I’ve included some spices (which are not Brazilian in origin but are nonetheless ubiquitous in Brazilian cuisine) and I’ve also turned the dish into a burger (it’s usually eaten as a stew with rice and salad). This burger is intentionally saucy; I encourage you to serve it alongside a bowl of moqueca to dip your burger into.

*Unrefined cooking oil is very different to the refined, commercial oil, but it’s still v important to make sure the brand you’re using is fairtrade and RSPO (Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil) certified.

Ingredients Serves 4

4 x 100g skinless hake fillets 

½ tsp fine salt

½ tsp caster sugar

2 tbsp olive oil

4  x brioche burger buns (optional, you could also serve this as a stew)

2 limes, halved, to serve

Moqueca

1 x 400g tin full-fat coconut milk

150g sweet cherry tomatoes, such as Datterini

1 orange or yellow pepper, deseeded and quartered (170g)

½ small brown onion, roughly chopped (50g) 

3 small garlic cloves, peeled 

1 scotch bonnet, deseeded (less if you prefer milder heat)

3 tbsp sustainable fair trade red palm fruit oil* (or use ghee or butter + 1 tsp smoked paprika instead)

1¼ tbsp honey 

½ tsp smoked paprika

¼ tsp ground turmeric

¼ tsp medium curry powder

Freshly ground black pepper (about 30 twists)

1¼ tsp fine salt

Lime and green chilli slaw

200g green cabbage, thinly sliced on a mandolin

60g kewpie mayo (or another mayo)

40ml lime juice

¾ tsp fine salt

40g spring onions, just the green ends thinly sliced into rounds (use the rest in another recipe)

10g coriander 

2 green chillies, thinly sliced into rounds (optional)

Method

1. Add the fish fillets to a 30 x 23cm high sided baking tray and season with ½ tsp of fine salt, ½ tsp sugar and 2 tbsp oil. Mix to coat.

2. Add all the ingredients for the moqueca to a blender and blitz until completely smooth. Add to the tray with the fish and mix to coat. Leave to marinate for 30 mins at room temperature.

3. While the fish is marinating, make the slaw. Mix the cabbage mayo, lime juice and fine salt together and set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 240C fan. Transfer the tray of fish to the oven for 22-24 minutes, or until the fillets are beginning to turn golden-brown on top. The sauce should have thickened and reduced considerably, and should be bubbling vigorously. Set aside to cool for 5 mins.

5. While the fish is cooling, spread a little mayo on each cut half of brioche, then toast in a very hot pan until golden-brown.

6. When you're ready to serve, stir the spring onions, green chilli and coriander into the slaw.

7. Place a fish fillet on each brioche half and spoon over plenty of sauce. Squeeze over some lime juice, then top with a generous spoonful of slaw and the other half of the bun. Serve with lime wedges and more sauce alongside, for dipping your burger into.