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Mufete
Grilled fish with beans and plantain
Mufete: Luanda's grilled whole fish with palm-oil beans, plantain, sweet potato, cassava and onion sauce
On the Ilha de Luanda and at the beach restaurants of Mussulo, mufete is the weekend feast: a whole grilled cacusso (tilapia) laid across a platter heaped with beans in palm oil, boiled plantain, sweet potato and cassava, with a sharp sauce of raw onion, vinegar and oil spooned over everything. The fish is smoky and juicy, the roots soft and sweet, and the onion sauce cuts through the richness of the beans. It is eaten slowly, with cold drinks and plenty of conversation. Ask the fishmonger to gut and scale the fish. Cassava must always be peeled, cored and boiled until fully soft, never eaten raw. Chef's tip: oil the grill bars and the fish well and don't try to turn it until the skin releases on its own, or it will tear.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the fish
- 2 whole tilapiaabout 600 g each, gutted and scaled by the fishmonger
- 1 lemonjuiced
- 3 cloves garliccrushed
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
For the beans
- 1 ¾ lb cooked butter beans or sugar beanstwo 400 g tins, drained
- 3 ½ tbsp red palm oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
For the roots and plantain
- 1 ⅛ lb cassavapeeled, woody core removed, cut in chunks (or frozen peeled cassava)
- 1 ⅛ lb sweet potatoespeeled, cut in chunks
- 2 green-yellow plantainspeeled, cut in 3 pieces each
- 1 tsp salt
For the onion sauce
- 2 onionsvery thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 fresh red chillifinely chopped
- ½ tsp salt
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Cut 3 deep slashes on each side of the 2 whole tilapia. Rub inside and out with the 1 lemon, 3 cloves garlic and 1 ½ tsp salt, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
30 minStep 2: Mix the 2 onions, 4 tbsp white wine vinegar, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 fresh red chilli and ½ tsp salt for the sauce and leave to soften while everything else cooks.
Step 4: In a second pan of boiling water with the rest of the ½ tsp salt, cook the 1 ⅛ lb sweet potatoes and 2 green-yellow plantains until both are tender to the point of a knife.
20 minStep 5: Meanwhile, warm the 3 ½ tbsp red palm oil in a saucepan over a low-medium heat and soften the 1 onion until translucent.
8 minStep 6: Add the 1 ¾ lb cooked butter beans or sugar beans and ½ tsp salt with a splash of water and simmer gently, stirring, until hot through and coated in the orange oil.
8 minStep 7: Heat a charcoal grill to medium-hot or a griddle pan over a medium-high heat. Pat the fish dry and brush it and the bars with the 2 tbsp sunflower oil.
Step 8: Grill the fish without moving it until the skin is charred and releases easily, then turn carefully and cook the other side, until the flesh is opaque and flakes from the bone at the thickest part.
16 minStep 9: Drain the roots and plantain. Arrange the fish on a large platter with the beans, cassava, sweet potato and plantain around it, and spoon the onion sauce over everything at the table.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 880 kcal
- Protein
- 52 g
- Carbs
- 115 g
- Fat
- 24 g
- Fibre
- 17 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does mufete take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 30 minutes to prepare and 60 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of lemon?
- Lime, or 2 tbsp bottled lemon juice per lemon (no zest from bottled juice).
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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