Moqueca with banana

This is a menu I'm going to share with a group of people at an event.

It's a Brazilian fish stew called Moqueca but made with vegan and accessible ingredients.

As a replacement of Dendê Oil I use some olive oil with paprika powder:)

The fish replacement is usually plantains but I used unripe bananas because they also work.

Yes, when bananas are overripe you can make banana cake with them but

when they are under ripe you can make a tasty Moqueca.

Ingredients for 6 portions

(A)

2 tbsp olive oil for roasting banana slices

1/2 tsp paprika powder just for the color

2 unripe bananas (sliced)

(B)

200g sliced onions

1tsp chopped ginger

2tsp chopped garlic

600g fresh tomatoes

250ml water

1tsp salt

1tsp paprika powder

1tsp turmeric powder

1tsp mixed spices (Ostmann's )

1tsp vegan broth (powder)

(C)

300g sliced bell peppers

250ml coconut milk (d.m Bio)

(Topping)

1cup fresh parsley or coriander leaves

Olive oil

Black pepper

STEP 1

Warm some olive oil in a frying pan.

First roast one side of banana slices until golden.

Sprinkle some paprika powder to color the oil.

Remove roasted bananas from the pan and set aside.

STEP2

Sautee chopped onion in the same frying pan until it becomes translucent.

Add garlic ,ginger (and some more oil if it needed) before adding tomatoes.

Add sliced or diced tomatoes ,water, salt and spices.

Place a lid and let it simmer for about 5-7minutes minutes.

STEP3

When the tomato sauce is ready place all the sliced bell peppers on it.

STEP4

Pour in coconut milk and let it simmer for 5 more minutes.

STEP5

Garnish the stew with fresh herbs and the roasted banana slices.

Sprinkle some pepper to taste :)

At the event I served this dish with my lentil rice.

By the way if you want to reduce the amount of coconut milk, add some other plant based milk and make it 250ml (for example 200g coconut milk /50g soy milk) in total.

You can also make this dish with only soy milk but it curdles just like you can see in the main picture due to acidity.

At the event I used d.m.'s bio coconut milk so it should taste more authentic.