Brazilian Cuisine - An Exploration

Olá! Today we are going to begin exploring the unique world of Brazilian cuisine.     

Cuisine in Brazil is unparalleled because it draws from European, African and native influences, and is very diverse according to the different regions of Brazil. In general, food there is very nutritious and involves wholesome ingredients. A popular dish is feijoada, a stew based on meat and black beans, usually accompanied by vegetables including okra, carrot, cabbage, kale, potatoes, banana, or pumpkin. The cuisine evolved to include dishes involving many different types of bean - from lentils, chickpeas and broad beans to black-eyed peas and soybeans - usually served either in a soup or with rice (a common basic meal). In southern Brazil, the cattle industry naturally causes a regional preference for meat, often cooked in the churrasco style, a type of barbecue traditionally utilizing skewers instead of a grill. Also prominent are salgadinhos, small savory tapas-like snacks often sold at street corner shops. Typically found in northern Brazil, acarajé are deep-fried balls of black-eyed peas stuffed with shrimp and/or peanuts. Moqueca is a seafood stew prepared without the addition of any water; instead, coconut milk, palm oil or olive and soy oil are added, and it ends up thick and creamy. A smooth mash of shrimps, coconut milk, peanuts or cashew nuts, bread and palm oil is called vatapa, and is often served with rice or acarajé . Cheese buns are a favorite snack or fast food, moist and chewy yet inexpensive. And if you get thirsty while trying all of this delicious food, you have plenty of choices: Brazilians, apparently, have fruit juice down to a science. Also, coconut water is a refreshing option, and the national liqueur, cachaça is made with sugar cane and is the main component in caipirinha, a cocktail that also includes lime juice and sugar.
This is only a short summary of Brazilian cuisine - there is so much more to taste and try out. Have a look online for recipes you can try, check out your local Brazilian restaurant, or better yet, go and visit Brazil (and do please take me with you)! 

Feijoada, A Brazilian Meat and Bean Stew

Feijoada originated with the Portuguese slave trade. Masters would give their slaves cheap black beans and odds and ends from various animals, which would be cooked together, traditionally in a clay pot. This resulted in what many have called the Brazilian national dish. Well, I made it yesterday, and it was fabulous, a thick, smoky bean stew with lots of different types of meat adding flavor and texture.  I got my instructions from a recipe, which can be found here. Not all of the meat called for in the recipe was readily available to me, so I ended up using corned beef, smoked sausages, chorizo sausage, a pork flank, and some turkey neck bones (instead of the ham hock). Traditionally, the stew would contain whatever odd meat bits were on hand, so this is open to experimentation. Also required are black beans, olive oil, onions, garlic, bay leaves, and a can of crushed tomatoes. I did not follow the recipe terribly precisely, as I wanted to use a slow cooker instead of a pot.

First, I soaked the beans overnight. On the following day, I set them to simmer in some water for 45 minutes while I browned the pork flank and cooked the onions and garlic, as instructed in the recipe. I then transferred the onions, garlic, and pork to a large slow cooker; the other meats and bay leaves were soon added, along with what was perhaps a mite too much water. After an hour of cooking, I very carefully added the beans and tomatoes. By this point, the pot was filled almost to overflowing, and when it began to bubble I was forced to remove some liquid (the use of a turkey baster in this step is not recommended unless you want a very wet kitchen and a rather irate parent).

At this point I left the mixture to cook for 3-4 hours with the slow cooker on high. This time was spent listening to people walk through the kitchen saying, "Wow, that smells great! It's making me hungry." When the meat was cooked and beans are nice and tender, a slotted spoon was used to remove the pieces of meat and cut them into medium chunks. Leaving these in a bowl, I ladled some of the beans/liquid mixture into a blender and whirred it until smooth. Replacing both the blended beans and the meat in the pot, I gave it all a good stir and served. 

Fair warning: this makes a lot of Feijoada. I would recommend either trying to freeze it, inviting people over, or bringing it to a party, because there is quite a lot of it. If it strikes your fancy, you can make some easy and yummy Brazilian rice to go with it - a great recipe for this can be found here, at A Taste of Brazil. Good luck!          

Poulet, Riz et Haricots Verts - A Meal in Summary

Good day!
Tonight our menu consisted of Poulet Sauté à la Grecque, Riz Pilaf, and Haricots Verts à la Vapeur. In other words, Greek-Style Sautéed Chicken, Rice Pilaff, and Steamed Green Beans. My recipes came from the recipe book 'Le Cordon Bleu At Home', and made for an interesting and delicious meal. The rice pilaf in particular was moist and intensely flavorful; it complemented the chicken, which was pan-seared and then cooked in the oven with onion, chili, chicken stock, and seasonings, to be topped later with a sauce that included currants and sultanas (golden raisins). The green beans, which were steamed yet still slightly firm, were a simple and healthy third part of the trio; they balanced out the complex flavors of the other two dishes perfectly.
All in all, this meal was thoroughly enjoyable and, while slightly time-consuming, not terribly difficult to pull off with the help of a few handy-dandy kitchen assistants (i.e. siblings, parents, or other innocent bystanders).
Recipes can be found in the posts below. Happy cooking!

     

Poulet Sauté à la Grecque

Poulet Sauté à la Grecque

Or, Greek-Style Sauteed Chicken

From 'Le Cordon Bleu At Home'

Ingredients:

-3.5 oz mixed currants and sultanas (golden raisins)

-4.5 lbs chicken

-2.5 oz butter

-2 tbsp olive oil

-Salt and pepper

-1 large onion, chopped

-1 small hot green chili, chopped

-¾ oz flour

-2 cloves garlic, crushed

-8 fl oz chicken stock

Instructions:

Put the currants and sultanas in a small bowl and cover with lukewarm water; set aside. 

If the chicken is whole, cut into 6 pieces; if you are using breasts or thighs, leave whole. Heat 1.5 oz of the butter and 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a large ovenproof or cast iron pot over high heat. Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pan. Saute until golden brown, then turn and repeat on the other side. Remove chicken and wipe off most of the fat. Begin preheating oven to 425*F. Add remaining butter and oil to the pot, then chopped onion and chili. Cook until soft but not colored. Whisk in the flour and cook for two minutes. Then, add the crushed garlic and the chicken stock and stir well. Return the chicken to the pan, and add only enough water to cover the chicken. Bring to a boil, then cover with a lid and place in the oven. Cook for 20-25 minutes, or until tender. Be sure not to let the chicken overcook and become dry. 

This is the moment to begin preparing your rice pilaff, if you are making it along with the chicken. 

When the chicken is finished, take it out of the pan, and place it on a serving platter covered with aluminum foil. Strain some of the liquid into a saucepan and add the sultanas and currants. Reduce and thicken the sauce over medium heat. (Note: impatient and/or hungry chefs can add a small teaspoon of cornstarch dissolved in a little water to the sauce. It will speed up the thickening process). 

Serve the chicken with some sauce on top, not leaving out the currants and sultanas. Enjoy!    

Riz Pilaf et Haricots Verts à la Vapeur

Riz Pilaf

Or, Rice Pilaff

From 'Le Cordon Bleu at Home'

Ingredients: 

-1.5 oz unsalted butter

-1 medium onion, chopped

-9 oz long-grain rice

-Salt and pepper

-1.5 pints of chicken stock (or water, if necessary)

-1 Bouquet Garni (or 1 bay leaf and a small handful of thyme)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425*F. Heat the butter in an ovenproof skillet. Add the chopped onion and cook until tender and clear. Stir rice in and continue stirring briskly until the rice is just translucent. Season with salt and pepper, add the stock and bouquet garni, and bring to the boil. Cover with a lid, and cook in the oven for exactly 17 minutes. When the time is up, remove from oven; let stand for ten minutes. Remove the bouquet garni before fluffing the rice with a fork and serving. 

 Haricots Verts à la Vapeur

Or, Steamed Green Beans

Ingredients:

-1 lb fresh green beans

Instructions:

Place the beans in the top part of the steamer, and fill the lower part half-full with water. Cover the top part with a lid. Bring to the boil and then leave 7 minutes (this time can be longer or shorter based on how cooked you want your beans). Serve steaming hot.