Recently I have been inspired by Chris from Cooking Around the World who has been creating a wonderful series of recipes for the world cup. He has produced a wide range of gorgeous looking dishes local to the countries taking part each day.

Looking at all this wonderful looking food inspired me to get my thinking cap on and come up with a Brazilian recipe to join in. Due to the vast size of the country and the mix of African and European influences Brazil has a wide range of dishes. I decided to create a Brazilian Fish Stew, loosely based on Moqueca but without using the coconut milk. The resulting stew was bursting with lime and tomato flavour and made a lovely dish for a Summer day.

I served it with McCain wedges in a Brazilian sharing bowl which went perfectly with the meal and were nice for dipping into the sauce. It would also be lovely served with crusty bread and a large side salad. Freshly ground black pepper over the top adds a little extra to the meal and sets it off perfectly. The stew is slightly spicy and hints at carnival excitement and hot steamy weather.The Brazilian Fish Stew would be perfect on a summer night, eaten in the garden with an ice cold larger or maybe a pitcher of Caipirinha, a Brazilian cocktail made with cachaça (a Brazilian rum) sugar and lime served with plenty of ice. It is really simple to cook and looks as if you have spent a lot of time making it. It is the ideal dish to impress guests.

Brazilian Fish Stew

Serving Size 8

Ingredients

Juice and zest of two limes
225 g 8oz white fish
225 g 8oz shrimps
¼ tsp chilli flakes
6 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 tsp salt
1 onion
750 g l½ lb tomatoes
½ green pepper
½ red pepper
1 chilli pepper
1 plantains
parsley
3 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Put the fish in a bowl.
Chop the chilli pepper into small segments and mix with the chilli flakes, lime juice, 3 cloves of finely chopped garlic and the salt.
Pour over the fish and leave to marinade for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes add the shrimp and leave to chill for 30 minutes longer.
Chop the onion, peppers and tomatoes and the rest of the garlic. Add to a pan.
Place the fish, parsley and shrimp on top and pour the olive oil over the top.
Bring to a boil and cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the fish is cooked.