Brazilian Fish Stew-- BRL Version

While in Rio I had the most amazing Fish Stew ever. I bought some Brazilian ingredients and so that I could recreate it at home. Here's what I came up with:



Ingredients:
1 1/4 lb white fish- such as bass, halibut, or tilapia
4 cloves garlic
1-2 shallots (or 1 onion)
1 green onions/ scallions
1 inch piece ginger
4 Tb cilantro
1/2 lime
4 Tb dende oil
2 Tb Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tb tomato paste
1 cup seafood stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup coconut milk
hot peppers (optional to taste)
salt n' pepa
1-2 tomatoes

Directions:
1) Chop the garlic, ginger, scallions, shallots & cilantro
2) Place the fish in a plastic ziplock bag and build the marinade by adding the olive oil, 1/2 the dende oil and half of the garlic, ginger, scallions, shallots & cilantro. Let the marinade sit for about 2-3 hours
3)Heat the remaining dende oil in a pot and add the rest of shallots, green peppers, ginger, and garlic. Let this cook for a few minutes. Add the fish with remaining marinade and lime juice. Cook on both sides.
4) Add seafood stock, white wine & salt and pepper to taste and let simmer. Add tomato paste and stir until dissolved
5) Add coconut milk, tomatoes, hearts of palm & peppers
6) Serve w/ fresh cilantro and steamed rice

**A few notes**
- I changed the written recipe from the video so that everything is cooked in the same pot--- one less dish to wash!
- Although I used a filet for the video, I would reccomend using a fish steak as it will hold better in the stew
- Feel free to add other items such as hearts of palm (very Brazilian & you can get them canned of jarred at the market) or shrimp (MMMmmmm)
- The stew in the video is a little lighter in color than you might experience. I reccomend using less coconut milk than I did in the video. I adjusted the written recipe to reflect the correct amount.
- Dende oil is very strong and high in fat so try not to go overboard with it

Brookland's Newest Addition: San Antonio's

I’ve been living in the Brookland neighborhood a few years now and while I love this area, my main grip has always been its lack of quality sit down restaurants. While I’ll kill some New Tong Shin (Thanks Jeremy) or Brookland Grill, sometimes the usual carryout joints just won’t do. So when I found out that a new joint was opening up at the site of the former Ellis Island Restaurant on 12th Street, I had high hopes.

I had been eyeing this place for a few months, but after reading about the owner in the Brookland Heartbeat, I had to try it. According to the article, Mr. Vargas, the owner of San Antonio’s was part owner of renowned DC restaurants Lauriol Plaza and Cactus Cantina in the 90’s and was the original owner of Banana Café on Capitol Hill, which he later sold to a friend. With successes like that, on top of the fact that this place is in my backyard I had to try it.

I would highly recommend trying this place during their Happy Hour (3-7pm, Mon-Sat). Specials include $3 margaritas, domestic beer and wine, $3.50 mojitos, and ½ priced apps. Their frozen Mango Margarita is delicious and you can't beat the HUMONGOUS nachos for 3 bucks!

The full menu features traditional Latin and Tex-Mex fares as well as American classics for about $12- $17 per meal. I had the Ropa Vieja (a traditional Cuban dish of shredded steak in a tomato based sauce) which was served with rice, black beans and fried plantains, while the mister had chicken fajitas. Both were amazing- cooked perfectly and seasoned just right. The service was meh- not bad, but not exceptional.

After all that food and some drinks, I definitely had to undo my button and struggled a bit to get home. This is a great neighborhood spot. I would definitely recommend it & can’t wait to share it with my friends and fam.

San Antonio Bar & Grill
3908 12th St NE
Washington, DC 20017