Chicken and Plantain Moqueca
A tropical chicken dish for hot summer days
Ingredients
- 1 big chicken
- 4 tbsps dende oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 green onions sliced on the diagonal
- 1/2 green pepper
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 small piece of ginger
- 3 cup chicken stock
- 11/2 cup coconut milk
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 kg ripe but still firm bananas
- 3 plum tomatoes
- 4 tbsps fresh cilantro
- salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken in salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of dende oil for 30 minutes at room temperature.
- Heat the remaining oil in a Dutch oven and brown the chicken (skin side down first) on both sides and set aside on a separate plate.
- Sauté both types of onions and peppers in the same pan till softened before adding the wine. Reduce the wine by half and put in the garlic and ginger and cook for a minute. Now stir in the stock, coconut milk, tomato paste and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and add the chicken. Season, cover and cook for about an hour.
- Peel and cut the plantains into 1-inch thick chunks and add to the pan after the chicken has cooked for 30 minutes. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes till plantains are cooked but not mushy. Take off the lid and simmer for a few more minutes till the gravy is slightly thicker. Then add the tomatoes a few minutes before serving, garnish with cilantro and serve with white rice.
Notes
Adapted from The Brazilian Kitchen by Leticia Shwartz