Moqueca fish burgers
Although not your traditional burger, this seafood-stew inspired fish burger recipe from Ixta Belfrage is sure to be a real crowd pleaser. It's surprisingly simple to put together, and is great for feeding a group of people. Be sure to have lots of bowls ready for dipping the buns into the sauce.
Ixta says: "Moqueca is a traditional Bahian seafood stew made with azeite de dendê (red palm fruit oil, see page 20 of FUSÃO), bell peppers and coconut milk. This burger is inspired by it, with more than a few untraditional twists: the sauce is smooth rather than textured and is made from all the ingredients that would usually go into the stew. I’ve added some spices (which are not Brazilian in origin but are nonetheless ubiquitous in Brazilian cuisine), and I’ve reimagined the dish as a burger (it’s traditionally served with rice and salad).
This burger is intentionally saucy; I encourage you to serve it alongside a bowl of the sauce to dip your burger into as you go."
Ingredients
Metric
Imperial
- 4 150g skinless fish fillets, (hake, haddock or cod would all work well)
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 4 brioche burger buns
Moqueca sauce
- 1 400g tin of full-fat coconut milk
- 150g of sweet cherry tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper, red or yellow, deseeded and quartered (170g)
- 1/2 small brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped (50g)
- 3 small garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded, or a milder chilli if you prefer
- 50g of red palm oil, or use ghee or coconut oil + 1 tsp sweet paprika instead
- 2 tbsp of runny honey, or maple/agave syrup
- 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp medium curry powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- freshly ground black pepper, about 50 twists
For the slaw
- 180g of green cabbage, thinly sliced on a mandolin
- 40g of spring onion green ends, thinly sliced into rounds (use the whites in another recipe)
- 2 green chillies, thinly sliced into rounds (optional)
- 2 tbsp of Kewpie mayonnaise, (or another mayo)
- juice of 1 lime, plus extra to serve
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
Method
Put the fish fillets into a 30 cm × 23 cm high-sided baking tray and season with the oil and salt. Mix to coat
- 4 150g skinless fish fillets, (hake, haddock or cod would all work well)
- 2 tbsp of olive oil
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
Put all the ingredients for the moqueca sauce into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. Pour into the tray of fish and mix to coat all the fillets in sauce. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes to 1 hour at room temperature
- 1 400g tin of full-fat coconut milk
- 150g of sweet cherry tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper, red or yellow, deseeded and quartered (170g)
- 1/2 small brown onion, peeled and roughly chopped (50g)
- 3 small garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded, or a milder chilli if you prefer
- 50g of red palm oil, or use ghee or coconut oil + 1 tsp sweet paprika instead
- 2 tbsp of runny honey, or maple/agave syrup
- 1 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp medium curry powder
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
- freshly ground black pepper, about 50 twists
Preheat the oven to 240°C fan/260°C, or as high as your oven will go
Once the oven is hot, bake for 30 minutes, or until the sauce is bubbling and has reduced and thickened somewhat. Set aside to cool while you toast the buns
Halve the buns and toast both sides in a very hot pan until golden brown
Mix all the ingredients for the slaw together
- 180g of green cabbage, thinly sliced on a mandolin
- 40g of spring onion green ends, thinly sliced into rounds (use the whites in another recipe)
- 2 green chillies, thinly sliced into rounds (optional)
- 2 tbsp of Kewpie mayonnaise, (or another mayo)
- juice of 1 lime, plus extra to serve
- 3/4 tsp fine sea salt
Place a fish fillet on the bottom of each bun and spoon over plenty of sauce. Top with a generous amount of slaw and the other half of the bun. Serve at once, with a bowl of sauce alongside to dip into and some extra lime
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