Moqueca

After enjoying one of the freshest and most delicious meals of my life at Muqueca Restaurant, I added moqueca (pronounced mo-ke-ka) to my list of life's most wonderful things. It made me so happy that I wanted to come home and learn a little more about it - and the pot it came in.

Moqueca is a traditional Brazilian seafood stew. Brazilians have been making it for 300 years. It basically consists of fish, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, chili pepper and additional ingredients. It is cooked slowly, with no water added. The pot it comes in is called a Capixaba Pot. These pots are made with black clay and mangrove tree sap. After being shaped and fired, sap is applied a few times. This blackens the clay and makes it water resistant. It must be seasoned with oil a couple of times before use. This typical dish is very important to the community because it supports a number of poor families who live off the craft of pot-making. Their grass roots association, called As Paneleiras (the pot making ladies), though not very powerful, is an important part of the city's life and culture.

This dish is just one more reason for me to want to visit the amazing country of Brazil - I will get there someday!