Fernanda de Paula
Shelley Hepworth is a producer, writer and editor based in Sydney, Australia. She was the managing editor of the SBS Food website for five years. Travelling across Brazil, Shelley relished the opportunity to explore the country’s dynamic relationship between food and culture, and her own passion for storytelling and photography.
Join Fernanda and Shelley on their culinary exploration of this beautiful and diverse land. Sample recipes from all corners of the country, from the salt cod fritters and cheese balls enjoyed in urban Brazil’s many bars and botecos; to the classic, more substantial meals like moqueca bahiana (seafood stew), feijoada (pork and bean stew) and arroz com mariscos (rice with shellfish); and indulgent sweet treats like coconut mousse and Brigadeiro chocolate truffles.
BRAZIL
Fernanda de Paula grew up in the mountainous state of Minas Gerais in Brazil and moved to Australia almost 10 years ago. She is a journalist, producer and presenter with a flair for recipe creation. She lives in Sydney, travels regularly to Brazil and is thrilled to share her homeland with a global audience.
THIS IS
Discover the taste of Brazil’s rich cultural heritage with This Is Brazil.
With all the colour of Carnival and recipes designed for sharing, This Is Brazil will take you there in no time.
BRAZIL Fernanda de Paula
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HOME-STYLE RECIPES and STREET FOOD
Brazil is a nation that loves to celebrate. Go to any football match, family barbecue, after-work drinks or the famous carnival street parades, and the playful atmosphere is contagious. This festive spirit carries over into every arena of life, including the kitchen. This Is Brazil gives you a taste of both Brazil’s rich heritage and the warm embrace of its people, with fun, easy-to-prepare dishes perfect for sharing with family and friends. So make yourself a cold caipirinha and enjoy cooking the Brazilian way!
Shelley Hepworth
FOOD
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CONTENTS Introduction
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Street and Boteco Food: One bite at a time
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The Beach: Brazil’s playground
Home Style: MEALS from the HEART The Brazil Mix
Drinks and desserts: The sweet life Artisan Produce Glossary Index
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Street and Boteco Food: street One Bite at a Time Brazilians make an art out of snacking. Whether it be at home, on the street or at the beach, having food on hand is an essential ingredient of a good time, and gives people the freedom to move about as they catch up with friends and family. But the true temples of petiscos (finger food) are the botecos. These little bars line the streets of every city in the country and range in character from very simple to up-market, although most are humble places. All it takes is somewhere to cook, a place to keep the beer cold and a few plastic chairs and tables on the pavement, and pronto – a boteco! Some are just a couple of chairs, while others boast a sea of tables, often of bright yellow plastic. In every boteco you’ll find people from all walks of life mixing and mingling, sipping beer or sampling a reputable collection of cachaça, Brazil’s unique sugarcane spirit. The menu outlines all the house specialities and sometimes trays will circulate for patrons to take their pick. Music is always on the cards and impromptu circles of musicians, known as samba de roda (literally ‘samba circle’), can spontaneously pop up, with everyone joining in the singing and dancing. Boteco food is cherished, and competitions to find the best boteco dish are a hit in many cities. These annual pilgrimages guarantee a fun evening with many pit stops. To win, contenders must score well across a number of categories including the cleanliness of the venue’s bathroom, staff friendliness, and whether the beer is as icy as it should be by Brazilian standards. That’s what we call a holistic approach!
Salvador, the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture, is awash with Bahianas (women from the state of Bahia) dressed in religious clothing and cooking up little gems like acarajé (page 34), a type of black-eyed pea and prawn (shrimp) fritter that originated as an offering to the gods. Cities such as Natal and Recife in the North-East are known for the tapioca pancake (page 46). This chewy goodness is served with simple toppings – both savoury and sweet – such as cheese, shredded coconut with condensed milk, or charque, a type of sun-dried, salted beef found all over the region.
The combination of freshly squeezed sugar cane juice served with a deep-fried pastry, known as pastel (page 16), is a mouth-watering classic found in every state. Meanwhile, the street food of the Amazon is suitably exotic. Acai smoothies (page 129), tambaqui fish barbecue and tacacá, a soup made from jambu leaves (which make your mouth go numb) are sold everywhere. In fact, you can create a very healthy diet from Brazilian street food alone.
The streets themselves are something of a culinary treasure-hunt, with street food staples varying from city to city. Since Brazilians use the street as if it were their backyard, grabbing chairs and sitting around the pavements shooting the breeze while the kids play, it’s no surprise that a lot of food is sold and eaten on the streets: outside churches, in main squares and in markets around town.
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Pastels are served everywhere in Brazil – on the beach, at markets or during house parties. They come with all kinds of fillings: prawn, beef, ham and cheese, plain cheese, cheese and banana. This recipe is for prawn pastels, but you can fill them with whatever you like. Make them small for canapés or slightly larger to serve with a salad for lunch or dinner.
Pastel de Camarao Deep-fried prawn pastries
From Bruno Da Motta · Makes about 30
750 G (1 LB 11 OZ) RAW PRAWNS (SHRIMP) 2 GARLIC CLOVES, CRUSHED 3–4 BIRD’S EYE CHILLIES, FINELY CHOPPED 2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL ¼ ONION, DICED 3 TOMATOES, PEELED, SEEDED AND FINELY CHOPPED 250 ML (8½ FL OZ/1 CUP) TOMATO PASSATA (PURÉED TOMATOES) 2 TABLESPOONS FINELY CHOPPED CORIANDER (CILANTRO) LEAVES 2 TABLESPOONS TOMATO SAUCE (KETCHUP) OIL FOR DEEP FRYING LIME WEDGES TO SERVE
Garlic paste 1 TEASPOON CRUSHED GARLIC 1 TEASPOON FINELY CHOPPED PARSLEY 1 TEASPOON OLIVE OIL
Dough 1 KG (2 LB 3 OZ/6⅔ CUPS) PLAIN (ALL-PURPOSE) FLOUR, PLUS EXTRA, FOR ROLLING 1 TABLESPOON SEA SALT 250 ML (8½ FL OZ/1 CUP) CANOLA OIL 2 TABLESPOONS CACHAÇA (SEE GLOSSARY)
Vinaigrette ¼ YELLOW CAPSICUM (BELL PEPPER), FINELY CHOPPED ¼ GREEN CAPSICUM, FINELY CHOPPED ¼ RED CAPSICUM, FINELY CHOPPED ¼ ONION, DICED 1 TOMATO, DICED 2 TABLESPOONS RED WINE VINEGAR 2 TABLESPOONS OLIVE OIL PINCH OF SALT
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To make the vinaigrette, combine the capsicums, onion, tomato, vinegar, oil and salt in a bowl. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Peel and devein the prawns, then combine them with the garlic and 1 teaspoon of the chilli. Leave to marinate in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. To make the garlic paste, use a mortar and pestle to blend the garlic, parsley and oil until a smooth paste is formed. To make the dough, put the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the middle. Add the salt, oil, cachaça and 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) warm water, and mix until combined. Firmly knead the dough for 5–10 minutes, or until the dough has an elastic texture. Rest the dough for at least 30 minutes. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the onion over a medium heat for 4 minutes, or until it begins to caramelise. Add the garlic paste and remaining chilli. Cook, stirring, for 1–2 minutes. Stir in the chopped tomatoes and sauté for a few minutes to allow the flavours to combine. Stir in the marinated prawns and the passata. Cook for 2–3 minutes, or until the prawns are almost cooked through. Stir in the coriander, tomato sauce and vinaigrette, and season with salt.
Divide the dough into 30 equal portions, then roll each portion into a 12 cm (4¾ in) round, sprinkling the dough with flour as you roll to prevent sticking. Spoon a small portion of the filling into the middle of each dough circle. Use the back of a fork to fold over the dough, creating a half-moon shape, and lightly flatten. Crimp the edges of the dough together. Heat 2.5 cm (1 in) of oil in a deep, heavy-based frying pan or saucepan to 180°C (350°F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil turns golden brown in 15 seconds. Cook the pastries in batches for 4 minutes per batch, or until they are golden brown. Remove the pastries using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Serve the pastries with lime wedges. Notes: The cachaça creates bubbles in the dough when it’s fried, giving it a crunchy texture. You can use vodka or white vinegar instead of cachaça. The filling can also be stirred through pasta for a simple meal.
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Street and Boteco Food: One Bite at a Time The Beach: Brazil’s Playground
Brazil has 7,491 km (4,654 miles) of coastline where pristine white sand meets the deep blue waters of the Atlantic, crossing seventeen states from north to south. Brazilians never miss an opportunity for fun, so the beach is part of the lifestyle – a social event. You go to meet new people, have a drink, listen to music and play sports such as footvolley. As always, food is an essential part of the equation.
in 1965 when football was banned on the beaches. Desperate players would take a football to the volleyball courts to disguise the game. A highly skilful sport that requires perfect ball control, it has since been taken up by professional footballers as an intense form of training.
At city beaches, deckchairs and umbrellas are set up as temporary bars with table service for drinks. Food vendors nonchalantly patrol the sand carting mobile cooktops, often with ear-splitting music blaring from built-in speakers. They stop every now and then to fill an order for barbecued prawn (shrimp) skewers, piping hot coalho cheese or grilled corn with butter, and it’s easy to lose yourself for hours, being awoken from your reverie by fellow beachgoers applauding the sunset, or by the (sometimes nasty) surprise of the bill.
While most urban beaches are buzzing, some spots on the coast remain quiet fishing villages that have survived the hunger of property development, and it feels like time has been suspended. Others, such as Natal’s Ponta Negra beach, cohabit with the tourist culture that has sprung up around it. Here fishermen are still working old-style in wooden sail boats called jangadas. After the day’s work at sea, they sell their catch to local distributors or food vendors. Real estate pressures, which grew during the 1960s, continue today, making the future of this fishing culture uncertain. Still, thousands of these fishermen remain scattered across the coast, supplying a notable portion of the seafood that is consumed in the country.
Brazilians are a friendly bunch, so it’s easy to make a new friend or ten as the social groups around you merge into one big party. There has long been an unhealthy divide between rich and poor in Brazil, and sometimes the contrast is unsettling. The beach is one place where people from different classes come together. The beach can also be a spectacle, a people-watching haven. Brazilians are generally comfortable in their skins and it’s not unusual to see a tiny swimming costume on an elderly man or a micro bikini on a large lady. This is all part of everyday life. To blend in, avoid wearing shoes or long-sleeved tops – just grab your swimmers and a sarong, and you’re ready to go. Costumes may look like they shrank in the clothes dryer, but no matter how small the piece of fabric, it always covers the essentials. Going topless is not only a major taboo, it’s also illegal and considered obscene. Impromptu games of beach football are common and so is a relatively new sport that combines aspects of football and volleyball. It’s known as footvolley and it originated in Copacabana 26
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The most surprising of Brazil’s beaches lie thousands of kilometres from the coast, right in the middle of the Amazon. River beaches in the city of Manaus are popular among locals, who frequent the powdery white sands to escape the jungle heat. The Amazon River is so wide that these beaches resemble ocean beaches, but the caiman warnings are a good reminder that the rainforest isn’t far away.
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Home Style:
meals from the heart
Brazil is a country of meat lovers and nothing goes to waste – goat’s tripe stew cooked with blood is still a hit in the North-East. Seafood is important too and there is huge variety along the coast. Grilled (broiled) lobster and crab stew are popular dishes to mark special occasions. Meanwhile the wetlands of the Pantanal and the rivers of the Amazon region contain thousands of species of freshwater fish. Legendary for its giant size, the Amazon’s pirarucu has become a delicacy, and the Pantanal’s striking pintado (painted fish) has a juicy, white flesh that is perfect for soups and stews. Although meat is always on the menu, an excellent assortment of fresh, tropical fruit and vegetables are used in side dishes and salads, making for a very balanced diet. The most prolific is cassava root, one of the basics of the cuisine that the native Indigenous people have used for centuries. A regular day in Brazil consists of three main meals and midafternoon tea. Breakfast is eaten straight after waking up, and it’s common to have French bread with butter, cold meats and coffee, sometimes with a piece of fruit. Lunch is by far the most important meal of the day. Brazilians take their time to sit and eat lunch and, even in the busiest cities, the idea of a cold sandwich behind an office desk isn’t widely accepted. Meals are usually hearty and colourful, with black beans, salad, meat and farofa (page 80) reigning as part of everyday lunches across the nation. Dinners are usually smaller portions that can be eaten late in the evening, so the rich dishes presented in this chapter, like feijoada (page 86) and moqueca (page 64), are mostly enjoyed at lunchtime. Family is the centre of the universe for most Brazilians and you can see this in action at weekend feasts. A spread of sumptuously prepared dishes is always on offer, abundant not only in quantity, but also in variety and flavour. These lunches go on for hours – a good chance to get an update on what’s going on in life and to celebrate and reinforce the importance of family.
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At the Brazilian table, there’s always plenty for sharing, regardless of the amount prepared. When guests arrive unexpectedly, what could be seen as a bit of a problem is solved by ‘adding water to the beans’, a popular saying used to illustrate that a little creative flair can stretch far. If you’re invited to join, you shouldn’t feel like an intruder or that you’re disturbing plans – Brazilians love to deal with surprises as they emerge. To make sure that you’re pleasing your hosts, don’t hold back on the compliments. Usually an easy-going, informal bunch, Brazilians aren’t so relaxed when it comes to table manners. Food is rarely eaten by hand. It’s good practice to let the host start eating before anyone else does, and talking with food in your mouth is seriously unacceptable if you’re over the age of five.
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Barreado is a type of stew that’s cooked in a claypot, sealed with dough. It’s famous in the small town of Morretes in the state of Paraná and was originally conceived as an easy source of energy for carnival revellers who partied throughout the night. Nowadays people travel to Morretes via the Serra Verde Express – a spectacular railway that connects the capital to the coast – to marvel at the enchanting scenery and try the famous barreado.
Barreado Claypot beef stew
ALL EASE ERE IS ADOW E
From Suily Gnata · Serves 8
1 KG (2 LB 3 OZ) STEWING BEEF, CUT INTO CUBES (SEE NOTE) 100 G (3½ OZ) BACON, CUT INTO THIN STRIPS 3 ONIONS, CHOPPED 6 GARLIC CLOVES, CHOPPED 60 G (2 OZ/1 BUNCH) CHIVES, SNIPPED 4 BAY LEAVES
1 TEASPOON GROUND CUMIN 500 G (1 LB 2 OZ/4 CUPS) CASSAVA FLOUR (SEE GLOSSARY) OR PLAIN (ALL-PURPOSE) FLOUR 2 BANANAS, CHOPPED CHILLI SAUCE TO SERVE
Arrange the beef, bacon, onions, garlic, chives, bay leaves and cumin in layers in a claypot. Cover with the lid. Set aside 2 tablespoons of the flour. Put most of the remaining flour in a large bowl and gradually mix in 340 ml (11½ fl oz/1⅓ cups) water to make a firm dough, adding the rest of the flour if needed. Mould the dough around the rim of the claypot to seal the lid.
Put the reserved 2 tablespoons of flour in a deep serving dish. Crack open the dough seal, spoon the stew into the serving dish and stir until creamy. Serve the stew with the bananas and chilli sauce. Note: We suggest using osso buco or gravy beef. The stew is best cooked on a wood stove. You can also use a cast-iron casserole if you do not have a claypot.
Put the claypot over a low heat and cook for 8 hours.
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Frango com Quiabo Chicken with okra
From Therezinha Neves de Souza Paula · Serves 6
1 × 1.8 KG (4 LB) FREE-RANGE CHICKEN, CUT INTO 8 PIECES 5 GARLIC CLOVES, CRUSHED 1 TABLESPOON PAPRIKA 1 KG (2 LB 3 OZ) OKRA 125 ML (4 FL OZ/½ CUP) OLIVE OIL
1 LARGE ONION, FINELY CHOPPED 45 G (1½ OZ) CHIVES, SNIPPED 45 G (1½ OZ) PARSLEY, CHOPPED STEAMED RICE TO SERVE
Season the chicken pieces with the garlic, paprika, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Wash the okra and dry it completely with a clean tea towel (dish towel). Cut the okra into 1 cm (½ in) slices. Heat half the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Cook the okra, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes, or until the sticky substance stops seeping out. Turn off the heat, discard the excess oil and set aside.
Add the fried okra and cook until the sauce has thickened. If there is too much liquid, cook until it has reduced. Stir in the chives and parsley, and serve with rice.
Heat the remaining oil in a large saucepan. Cook the onion over a medium heat for 5–6 minutes, or until well browned. Add the chicken pieces and brown well. Pour in enough boiling water to almost cover the chicken. Season with salt. Cook over a medium heat with the pan half-covered for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is very tender.
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Drinks and desserts: When it comes to sweets and desserts, Brazilians rule the kitchen like they rule the football pitch. The Portuguese landed on Brazilian shores in 1500 AD when sugar was rare and expensive. Sugar was a lucrative product at the time and the colonisers were quick to realise that sugarcane adapted easily to the Brazilian climate and soil. They planted the crop extensively all over the country, particularly in the North-East, and it was a prosperous time for the colony as ships filled with sugar set sail to sweeten the lives of the European elite across the ocean. For Brazil, the sugar trade bore two new loves: sweets drenched in sugar, and cachaça, Brazil’s unique sugarcane spirit. The Portuguese didn’t come empty-handed either, bringing with them new pantry ingredients and new techniques, along with a centuries-old food tradition that cherished sweets made with egg yolks and milk. The tradition originated in the Catholic convents of Portugal where the nuns developed and sold a rich selection of custards, puddings and doughnuts for extra income. As the church established itself in Brazil, the tradition continued, no doubt fuelled by the sugar trade. Along with eggs and milk, the ever-present cassava also made its mark on the dessert scene. Cassava flour and sagu (tapioca pearls) are used as the basis of many puddings and cakes, sometimes combined with coconut and condensed milk for a super-sweet treat.
the sweet life The wide availability of tropical produce has meant that compotes, juices and smoothies are a popular part of everyday life. In some states, mid-afternoon tea is served and enticing tables are filled with cakes, compotes, cheese and caramel, among other savoury treats. And all over Brazil you’ll find little shops selling Vitaminas, a blend of fruit juice and milk with combinations such as banana or avocado. Unlike the rest of the world, Brazilians use avocado exclusively in sweet dishes, and avocado mousse (page 170) is a favourite dessert in many households. Freshly squeezed juices provide much-loved and essential relief from the mostly hot weather, along with another refreshing drink, the acai smoothie (page 129), which is sold in juice bars all over the country. A berry that’s harvested from tall palms in the Amazon, acai is used to make this thick, icy drink. With the addition of toasted cassava flour or muesli (granola), an acai smoothie can be a meal in itself.
Brazilians are also kings of sweets (candies), which are often served at children’s birthday parties. Brigadeiro (page 122) is a popular treat, similar in shape to a truffle. Legend has it that the sweet was named during the electoral campaign of 1945, in honour of candidate Brigadeir Eduardo Gomes. Brigadeir was running for presidency with the slogan ‘Vote for Brigadeir. He’s handsome and single’. Apparently the politician won the hearts of scores of girls, who sold the chocolate sweets to raise funds for his campaign.
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Bolo de Cenoura Carrot cake with chocolate topping
Serves 16
3 CARROTS, COARSELY GRATED 170 ML (5½ FL OZ/⅔ CUP) VEGETABLE OIL 400 G (14 OZ/1¾ CUPS) CASTER (SUPERFINE) SUGAR 4 LARGE EGGS 375 G (13 OZ/2½ CUPS) SELF-RAISING FLOUR
Chocolate topping 220 G (8 OZ/1 CUP) SUGAR 125 ML (4 FL OZ/½ CUP) MILK 30 G (1 OZ/¼ CUP) DUTCH (UNSWEETENED) COCOA POWDER 20 G (¾ OZ) BUTTER ½ TEASPOON NATURAL VANILLA EXTRACT
Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Lightly grease a 20 × 30 cm (8 × 12 in) baking tin and line the tin with baking paper. Combine the grated carrots and oil in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs, and blend until combined. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, add the flour and mix well. Pour the batter into the tin, smoothing the top. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
Cook over a low heat, whisking occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and gently simmer, whisking occasionally, for 3–5 minutes, or until the topping is glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Set aside to cool and thicken for 5 minutes. Pour the topping over the warm cake and set aside to cool before serving. Note: Traditionally, the topping for this cake is made from Brigadeiro (page 122) batter, cooked for 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, to make the chocolate topping, combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan.
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Pe de moleque Peanut caramel
Makes 20
500 G (1 LB 2 OZ) PEANUTS IN THEIR SKINS, LIGHTLY TOASTED 440 G (15½ OZ/2 CUPS) SUGAR PINCH OF SALT
Lightly grease a large shallow baking tray with butter or flavourless oil. Lightly grease a piece of baking paper the same size as the tray and set aside. Combine the peanuts with the sugar, salt and 250 ml (8½ fl oz/1 cup) water in a large heavybased saucepan over a medium heat. Cook, stirring constantly, for 10–15 minutes, or until the mixture becomes dry and the sugar crystallises. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the sugar has liquefied and turned a deep caramel colour.
When the peanut caramel is completely cool, break it into pieces. Store the caramel in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 3 weeks. Note: Instead of pouring the caramel onto the tray and smoothing it out, you can drop heaped spoonfuls onto the tray to make 20 sweets. You will need to work fast because the caramel will set quickly.
Ensure the peanuts are well coated in the caramel, then pour onto the prepared tray. Cover with the prepared baking paper, greased side down, and smooth out the peanut caramel, using the base of a small saucepan or rolling pin, until it is about 1 cm (½ in) thick. Do not touch the caramel as it will be extremely hot. 158
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