Month: January 2019

Delicious Instant Pot Prawn Stew (Moqueca)

I recently became the proud owner of an Instant Pot. I had never heard of one before I received it as a Christmas present from my boyfriend – apparently he had heard good things from one of his friends (yeah I had no idea guys talked about cooking either!).

Anyway, if you haven’t heard of them either, it’s basically a fancy pressure cooker that also slow cooks and sautes so you basically never have to use any other kitchen appliance to cook food again!

So I’ve used it 3 times now and I absolutely love it! It cooks everything super fast and the results come out juicy and perfectly cooked every time. As long as you can follow simple instructions, you can be a great chef.

That brings me to this amazing prawn stew I made the other day, using my Instant Pot of course. I adapted the recipe from a similar one which used white fish, but I honestly prefer eating fish grilled or oven baked to really enjoy the delicate texture and flavour of it. Prawns I feel are a perfect low calorie protein for stews, curries, stir fries etc basically any kind of meal where the sauce is the main event.

Without further ado, here’s the recipe 🙂 – serves 2/3

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Ingredients:

Stew Base

  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 10 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 200g chopped tomatoes
  • 200ml fish stock
  • 200ml coconut cream
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp paprika (smoked or regular)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (mild spiciness)

For Finishing

  • 1 kg raw king prawns
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • Juice of half a lime
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Method:

  1. Add all stew base ingredients to your Instant Pot (or other type of pressure cooker) and stir until well-mixed.
  2. Secure and seal the lid. Make sure switch is on ‘sealing.’ Cook for 10 minutes at high pressure, followed by a further 10 mins on ‘lo’ (just leave it for another 10 mins after timer has gone off). Then, switch to ‘venting’ until all pressure is released.
  3. Remove lid and turn on the saute mode for 10 mins. Let the stew simmer to thicken the sauce, stirring frequently.

  4. When the stew has thickened, stir in prawns until cooked through and pink, about 5 minutes.

  5. Turn off the saute mode. Stir in coconut oil and lime juice until combined. Serve in bowls, with rice, quinoa or even warm crusty bread, and top with chopped parsley or dill (I used parsley).