Brazilian Food
The Brazilian
cuisine has been strongly influenced by Portuguese colonization and Italian,
German, Syrian and Lebanese immigrants, who came at the end of the nineteenth
century. Brazilian culinary build into a rich variety of flavors and colors
adapted to local ingredients which is unique and delicious.
Because the country is so vast, each region has its specialties. In the
Northeast, especially in Bahia, African influence is prominent with the
spiciest food such as: Acarajé (a mashed bean small cake stuffed
with peppers, dried shrimp, onions and ginger), Vatapá (a puree
of fish or shrimp), Moqueca (seafood broth eaten with rice) and Dende
Oil (orange palm oil). The Amazon is better known for the Indian influence
and has a diet rich of fish (Pirarucu), root vegetables, yams and peanuts
or tropical fruits. In São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, the two most
cosmopolitan cities of Brazil, there is a great concentration of national
and international restaurants with contemporary food. Minas Gerais regional
dishes are short ribs, beans and local soft ripened cheese. Churrasco
or beef barbecue is a contribution from the South, it is among Brazilian
favorites and widely found in the steakhouses all over the country. In
this " All you can Eat" steakhouses, pieces of beef are skewered
into a metal sword and roasted over hot coals.
Feijoada is considered the national dish, a heritage from African slaves
during Brazil's colonization. They used pork leftovers that their Portuguese
masters wouldn't eat, such as ears and tail cooked with black beans. Nowadays
it is elaborated with many different smoked and sun-dried meats, smoked
sausage and served with a number of side dishes, including sliced oranges,
cold cuts, farofa (stir-fried manioc flour), couve mineira (thinly sliced
kale) and white rice. Feijoada is commonly served on Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Delicious tropical fruits are found all year round. Some rare examples
are açaí, cajú, cupuaçu, graviola, mangostim,
carambola, pitanga, romã, cajá, umbú, tamarindo,
saputi, jaboticaba, acerola, mangaba, among others.
Savory snacks served as appetizers called salgadinhos are not to miss:
codfish croquettes, rice cake, manioc cake stuffed with melted catupiry
cheese or shrimp and pão de queijo (small hot cheese rolls).
Among the popular drinks are chopp (draft beer), cachaça (alcoholic
beverage distilled from sugar can) and caipirinha, Brazilian's favorite.
Caipirinha' s ingredients consist of crushed lime slices, ice, sugar and
extra juice, served over rum or cachaça. Guaraná is a soft
drink which competes with Coke, derived from the fruit with the same name.
Brazilians are also proud of national coffee, ranking as one the largest
producers in the world. At breakfast, coffee is served with hot milk and
after meals in tiny cups, really strong. Because of the tropical fruit
variety, juices are divine
National dish: Feijoada
Ingredients:
1 pound of black beans
1 pound of smoked sausage
1 pound of carne seca or 1/2 pound of bacon
4 pork shoulder bones and ears
2 small onions
2 garlic cloves
2 large bay leaves
2 cups of beef stock
olive oil
salt and fresh pepper
very hot pepper sauce
Recipe:
Wash beans well and then leave them soaking in 1 liter of water overnight.
On the next day, cook the beans and water on low heat for about an hour
with the beef stock.
While the beans are cooking, cut the meats into bite
size chunks, put them all in a pan, cover them with water and boil them
for about ten minutes.
Chop the onions and the garlic finely and mix in random
herbs and spices (a spice mix for salads would work well here). Heat three
spoons of oil in a frying pan and fry the onion mixture until it caramelizes.
Add a ladle full of beans (which at this point should be soft) and mash
it together with the fried onion mixture. Put the bay leaves into this
mush and let it fry for a few minutes. Pour everything back into the beans.
Put the strained meats into the beans and add a cup
of water. Stir. Add salt and hot pepper sauce to taste. Serves 5 over
rice. Can and should be served with peeled oranges and boiled, salted
and shredded collard greens. To drink, prefer beer or caipirinha.
Notes: While the beans are cooking, stir them
occasionally because if they burn on the bottom, the whole dish will be
contaminated. Also, do not add salt to the beans until the meats have
been in it for a while as these will tend to release their salt into the
water. The Feijoada will be ready when the liquid is thick and flavorful.
