Brazil with an S
Brazilian Recipes Avocados Cream
3 ripe avocados 1 spoon of lemon water 3/4 of a small cup of sugar Pinch of salt 11/2 small cupfuls of milk 60 gm. port wine. Preparation: Peel the avocados, remove the stone and cover with sugar and lemon juice. Leave for 5 to 10 minutes. Add salt and put in the liquidizer with milk or pass through a strainer with a little milk. Add the wine and leave to freeze. Serve in glasses.
Brazilian Coffee (preparation)
This is how to make coffee. The proportions are two level spoons of powdered coffee to 3/4 of a cup of cold water. Heat the water to boiling point without letting it boil. Because boiled coffee loses its essential oils. Add the coffee to the water, mixing all the time and remove from the heat. Leave to stand for one minute, stir once more and strain into a pot that should previously have been warmed with boiling water, together with the cups. Serve in demitasses with sugar available for those who want it.
Feijoada
Ana Judith's recipe, serves 15: For the feijoada: 11/2 kg. of black beans 1 small cured pig's tongue 250 gm. of salted pork loin 1 small salted pig's trotter 1 small salted pig's ear 2 salted tails 2 smoked dried ham sausages 1 large thick fresh sausage 300 gm. fresh thick pork smoked sausage 300 gm. fine pork smoked sausage 250 gm. lean smoked bacon 1/2 kg. of dried meat 250 gm. smoked rib 1/2 kg. fresh pork loin 2 bay leaves 3 cloves of garlic 4 tbs. oil Salt
For the accompaniments: 8 Bahia type oranges Normal white rice Cabbage Toasted cassava flour mixed with eggs and fat Chilli sauce Preparation: Soak the washed beans in water the night before. Do the same but separately with the dried meat and the salted loin, taking care to change the water twice. Carefully wash and clean the pig's tongue, trotter, ear and tails. Wipe the fresh pork and pork loin. Scald the dried, smoked ham sausage. Put the beans to cook in plenty of water including the water in which they has been soaking, together with the bay leaves and bacon. Allow to boil for one hour and then add the meat in the following order: the smoked tongue, the dried meat cut in large pieces, the pig's trotter and tails, the smoked ham sausage and the smoked ribs, the salted loin, the fresh loin, the pig's ear, the fresh sausage whole and the smoked dried sausage cut in large pieces. Add hot water as required so that the meat is always covered by the broth. During cooking, which is normally done in two pans, skim off the surface debris. When the beans are soft and the broth has thickened, season with three cloves of well-crushed garlic that have been browned in four tablespoons of oil. Test for saltiness and skim the surface in order to remove any excess fat. Take out two ladlesful of beans and mash with a fort to form a paste. Mix with the feijoada mixture and reduce the heat. Peel the oranges, remove the seeds and cut into small pieces. Keep in the ice-box until serving. Prepare sufficient rice, cabbage and toasted cassava flour with eggs and fat for fifteen people. Mix the chilli sauce with a tablespoon of brandy and half a ladle of broth from the feijoada. Serve all the meat cut into evenly-sized pieces on a large serving dish and the feijoada in a deep lidded tureen. The other accompaniments should be served on dishes.
Caipirinha
INGREDIENTS 1 lime quartered 1 tablespoon of sugar 1 shot of cachaça 1/2 Cup of ice cubes with water PREPARE: Place the lime and sugar in the bottom of a glass. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, crush and mash the limes. Pour the liqueur and ice. Stir well. SERVE This is a summer drink to appreciate before eating. Decorate the glass with a slice of lime. Great with Brazilian barbecues.
ALTERNATIVE PREPARATION Using Lemon/Lime soft drink. MIX 1 Cup of lemon/lime soft drink with ice 1 shot of cachaça
Cheese Bread
Ingredients: 2 lb of manioc starch (polvilho). You can use either sweet or sour manioc starch. Some people complain that sour manioc starch causes heartburn, however sour manioc starch makes the rolls rise more. It is your choice. 1lb of mashed potatoes (just cooked potatoes, mashed with no salt or oil). 2 tablespoon margarine 1/2 cup vegetable oil 4 eggs 1 teaspoon salt 3 1/2 oz grated parmesan cheese 1 qt milk Preheat oven to 350° F The mashed potato should be cool before using. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the milk. Then add the milk slowly while you mix until you get a soft dough. Place 1 inch balls spaced in a unbuttered cookie sheet and bake at moderate oven (350 F) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 50 rolls.
MINAS BARBECUE
(Minas Gerais style) INGREDIENTS: 2 lb of beef tenderloin 2 tbs lemon juice 1 mashed clove of garlic 2 tbs of salt
PREPARE: Soak beef in the lemon juice, garlic and salt. Better if stay soaked overnight. Grill large chunks of meat. Roast slowly. SERVE: Cut outside parts already brown and serve. Keep rare beef on grill and baste with salty water to keep meat juicy. Serve with white rice, Brazilian salsa vinaigrette, and seasoned manioc flour (farofa). SERVING SIZE: 4 portions
VINAIGRETTE SALSA
INGREDIENTS: Note: all diced ingredients = ¼ inch 1 cup of diced green and red bell peppers. ½ cup diced onions 1 cup diced ripe tomatoes. ¼ cup white wine vinegar. 2 tbs of olive oil PREPARE: In a bowl, mix green and red peppers, onions, tomatoes, vinegar and olive oil. Hint: add salt to the salsa right before serving it. Salt dehydrates the tomatoes in the mixture if let for long time. SERVE: Brazilian Vinaigrette Salsa is great with Brazilian Barbecues or on top of any meat, fish and sausage. SERVING SIZE: 8 portions. White Rice Ingredients 3 cups of long grain rice 6 tbs of oil Salt and garlic PREPARE Place 2 qt. of water to boil Rinse the rice in a strainer and drain. Heat the oil in a medium pan, add the drained rice and stir in medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt and garlic; stir for more 2 minutes. Rice will fry and water evaporate. Add enough boiling water to cover the rice. Bring it to boil and then reduce the heat to low, cover and let the rice simmer for about 20 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Hint: Keep adding boiling water just enough to cover the cooking grains. The water should be just enough to cover the grains during cooking. Bite one grain. If it is tender, remove the cover, let the remaining water evaporate and the rice is ready! SERVE: Serve it warm. SERVING SIZE: 6 portions.
CHICKEN BARBECUE
Brazilian Style INGREDIENTS: 1lb chicken thigh per person For each pound of chicken: 2 tbs of olive oil 1 minced clove of garlic salt PREPARE: Clean chicken, rub thoroughly with salt and soak in oil and garlic to marinate for 2 hours. Place the chicken on grill and roast slowly. Baste with oil during roasting. Hint: Pre-cook chicken in a large pot with salt. It will make the roasting taste better in the inner parts. SERVE: Serve with white rice and Brazilian salsa vinaigrette.
INGREDIENTS: 10 lb of fine quality cuts of beef, lamb, veal, ribs, etc. ½ cup of salt 6 mashed cloves of garlic 3 cups of water PREPARE: Set the fire and be sure the coals are bright before putting on the meat. Assemble meat cuts on metallic skewers and set on the grill. Turn skewers frequently. When the meat begins to brown, make a salty liquid dissolving the salt in the water with the garlic and baste the meat with it. SERVE: Cut slices from outside and serve. Keep meat warm on the grill while not serving. Always baste the meat waiting on the grill with the salty liquid to keep it juicy and fresh. SERVING SIZE: 10 portions.
Deep-fried pastry filled
INGREDIENTS: 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon of cachaça (or vodka) 1 tablespoon margarine 1/3 cup warm water with 2 pinches of salt ½ teaspoon baking powder 1 egg Sift the flour with baking powder. In a large bowl, mix in the sifted flour, margarine, cachaca and egg. Mix well while adding the warm water until you get a dough. (Or you can prepare the dough in a electric mixer). Move the dough to a flat surface and knead it for 15 minutes.
Use a pin to flat the dough. Take half of the dough each time and flatten it with the pin. Fold the dough couple times and flatten it again until you get a thin elastic stripe about 6 inches wide. Lay the stripes down in a floured surface. Place full teaspoons of your favorite filling evenly distributed on the dough Fold it and cut with a glass or a cookie cutter. Pinch with your finger (or fork) the seam to make sure it is closed. Deep-fry the Pastel at 350 °F for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. Pat dry in a paper towel and serve. Fillings: You can fill your Pastel with whatever you like. In Brazil the most common fillings are: Ground beef Heart of palms Cheese (you can just place a piece of cheese and fold the dough) Bananas (Yes! I love this one. Just place a slice of banana with some sugar and cinnamon and fold the dough) Use your imagination and create your own fillings.
French bread in Brazilian style
Paozinho de sal, is the most popular bread in Brazil. You usually buy them from the neighborhood bakery, always fresh made. This bread is actually the traditional French bread, but Brazilians tweaked the recipe to make it even better. Find below the secrets to bake this must-have breakfast roll.
INGREDIENTS: 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour 2 envelops FLEISCHMANN'S RapidRise Yeast 1 tablespoon granulated sugar 1 tablespoon margarine 1 tablespoon salt 2 cups water There are three secrets to make this roll like Brazilians do: First, the Brazilian rolls uses a bromate mix, but you can get similar results by adding few drops of ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) to the dough. Second, you have to knead the dough a lot. As longer you knead as better your bread will be. You might consider a heavy-duty mixer to knead the dough for you. Or you can knead the dough by hand, at least 20 minutes. We don‟t like bread machines. Third, is how you get that crust on the top of the bread: the baker‟s oven has a controlled level of internal moisture. You can reproduce this condition by basting the rolls with cold water just before they are done. How to prepare: In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of flour with undissolved yeast, sugar and salt. Heat water with margarine until very warm (130 add a few drops of Vitamin C to the hot F), water and pour into dry ingredients and mix well.
Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic (at least 20 minutes, or use a heavy-duty mixer). Cover and let rest for 2 hours in a warm place. Take small portions of dough (50 grams / 2 oz). Flat dough with a pin. Beginning at long end of each, roll up tightly as for jelly roll. Place rolls with seam down on a large greased/floured baking sheet, leaving room for dough to rise. Let the rolls rest for 1 ½ hour while you heat the oven to 400 F. With a sharp knife, make couple diagonal slashes (1/4-inch deep) across the top of each roll. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown. Just before the rolls are done, open the oven and baste each rolls with cold water quickly. You can use either a brush or a water spray. This will make the flaky crust on the top of each roll. Paozinho just have the crust on the day they are baked. However, you can storage in freezer for 3 months and re-heat to serve. Don‟t expect the dough made with Vitamin C to rise as much as the dough with bromates. But never mind, you will be better off eating Vitamin C than bromates. Serving size: About 20 rolls.
Party Food Coxinha deep-fried dough with chicken filling
INGREDIENTS: 3 boneless chicken breast ½ chopped onion 2 chopped cloves of garlic 6 tablespoon margarine 2 cubes beef bouillon salt ground pepper 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 (8oz) cream cheese 2 eggs Bread crumb PREPARE: Combine chicken breast, chopped onion, garlic, beef bouillon, salt, ground pepper, margarine and 4 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Place the pressure cooker in medium-heat. Chicken is ready 10 minutes after the regulator starts to blow steam. Remove chicken breast from broth. Finely chop chicken breast to make the coxinha filling. You can increment the filling with parsley, green onions. But do not add liquids to the filling. Bring exactly 3 cups of the remaining broth to boil. Add the 3 cups of flour into the boiling water and stir vigorously with a wood spoon for about 1 minute until it become dough. Take dough out of pan. When warm, knead dough until it becomes smooth and dissolve the flour lumps (about 10 minutes). Flatten dough with a rolling pin to about ¼-inch thick and cut medium size circles with a biscuit cutter. Place the dough in your palm, place a small cube of cream cheese and a teaspoon of chicken filling previously prepared.
Dose the ingredients according to the size of the dough circle you cut so that you can close the dough with the filling inside. Knead scraps and re roll, repeat cutting circles until all dough is used. Fold and close the dough in a shape of a drum stick (a little chicken drum stick in Portuguese translate to "coxinha"). Grease hands if necessary. Baste the filled dough with egg whites and roll them over breadcrumb. Deep-fry the snacks 350 °F for about 8 minutes or until golden brown. SERVE: Place in baking cups and serve with guaraná. SERVING SIZE: 60 bite size coxinhas or 30 mediums.
Empada chicken mini pies
INGREDIENTS: Crust: 4 cups all-purpose flour 12 oz margarine 2 eggs 1 egg yolk for basting 1 tablespoon baking powder 3 tablespoon cold water Salt Filling: 2 boneless chicken breast ½ cup green olives (chopped) ½ cup heart of palms chopped 3 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 chopped onion 1 tablespoon oil 2 tablespoon tomato paste Salt PREPARE: Crust: combine flour, margarine, 2 eggs, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Mix all ingredients vigorously with the fingers for about 10 minutes or until it becomes dough while holding the bowl with the other hand. Add the spoons of cold water to the mixture to reach the dough consistency. Do not knead the dough; just squeeze it with your fingers until mixed. Pat dough into a ball and let it rest while you prepare the filling. Filling: Combine chicken breast, chopped onion, oil, salt, and 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker. Place the pressure cooker in medium-heat. Chicken is ready 10 minutes after the regulator starts to blow steam. Finely chop chicken breast and transfer it with the broth to a saucepan. Add green olives, heart of palms, tomato paste and stir in 3 tablespoon of flour. Cook the filling for additional 5 minutes and check for consistency. The filling should be a paste. ASSEMBLE: Take small amounts of dough and press against the mold to line it up to a bit over the edge.
Fill the mold with chicken. Make a small lid with the dough and cover the mold. Press the lid borders against the mold to seal the line crust with the cover and cut the excess off. Brush top of pies with egg yolk. BAKE: Preheat oven to 375 °F. Bake for about 25 minutes of until top becomes golden brown. Let it cool and release from molds. SERVE: Place mini pies in baking cup to serve.
POTATO SALAD (Brazilian style)
Potato salad is very popular in Brazil. The basic difference the Brazilian salad has are: There‟s no celery (Celery is not widely used in Brazil) All vegetables are peeled. We increment the taste with sour diced apples. INGREDIENTS: 2 lb white potatoes 1 lb carrots 2 hard boiled eggs 1 cup mayonnaise 1 can green peas Salt with garlic Chopped parsley 1 green apple ½ cup seedless raisins Cook the potatoes and carrots for 5 minutes in a pressure cooker with salt and garlic. Peel the potatoes and carrots and cool them completely. Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes and carrots into ½-inch cubes. Peel the green apple, remove the core and dice apple into ¼-inch cubes. In a large bowl, combine the diced potatoes, carrots, sliced eggs, drained green peas, diced apple, raisins. Add the mayonnaise while stirring the salad with a wood spoon. Decorate with the chopped parsley and refrigerate. Hint: For a stronger taste, add some green olives to the salad.
SALPICÃO SALAD
(Shoestrings salad) Salpicão is a popular salad in Brazil. You can use as a side dish for meats. Salpicão is great for parties, Brazilians fill shells (barquettes) with salpicao to make party snacks. INGREDIENTS: 1 lb chicken breast 4 thin slices of ham ½ cup drained green peas 1 cup heart of palms chopped
2 large carrots 3 cups shoestring potatoes fries 1 green apple 1 cup mayonnaise Cook chicken breast with salt, drain and cut into ¼-inch cubes. Coarsely grate carrots (use them raw). Cut ham slices into fine strings. Peel, remove core and cut green apple into ¼-inch cubes. In a large bowl, combine the chopped chicken, ham strings, drained peas, chopped heart of palms, grated raw carrots and diced apple. Mix all ingredients while adding the cup of mayonnaise. Finally, stir in the shoestring potatoes. SERVE: Serve as a side dish. Make 6 servings. Hint: To have a crispy salad, just stir in the shoestring by the time you will serve it. STORAGE: Do not freeze. Keep refrigerated.
CHICKEN XIMXIM
(Chicken stew with shrimps) INGREDIENTS: 2 lb dried shrimps, soaked overnight, ground (you can replace by cooked shrimps) 1 lb roasted peanuts (chopped in a food processor) 2 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 chopped onion 1/2 green pepper, chopped 2 cloves of garlic chopped 4 diced ripe tomatoes ½ cup palm oil ½ cup coconut milk 3 cups of water 3 pounds of cubed chicken meat Salt PREPARE: Heat the palm oil in a large skillet. Add chopped onion, parsley, green pepper, garlic, tomatoes, salt and chicken cubes. Stir-fry for about 15 minutes in high-medium heat or until chicken cubes are cooked. Add water, shrimps, peanuts, and coconut milk. Simmer the stew for additional 15 minutes or until you get a creamy sauce. Hint: You can replace the palm oil with vegetable oil you have. SERVE: Serve with white rice. Add pepper sauce if desired. SERVING SIZE: 6 portions
MOQUECA
(Fish stew with coconut) INGREDIENTS 2 lb white fish in cubes or filets. ½ cup coconut milk 2 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoon lime juice ½ teaspoon salt 1 chopped onion 1 clove garlic, minced 3 tablespoon parsley 2 tablespoon tomato paste 1 tablespoon pepper sauce 1 cup water. PREPARE: Combine the fish with lime juice and salt in a bowl. Let it marinate while you prepare the sauté pan. Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan and add the chopped onion, garlic. Sauté the ingredients until onion becomes limp. Add marinated fish, tomato paste, water and simmer for about 10 minutes in medium heat or until fish is done. Mix in the coconut milk, pepper sauce, parsley and simmer for additional 5 minutes. SERVE: Serve directly from sauté pan with white rice. SERVING SIZE: 6 portions
FRANGO ENSOPADO (Chicken cuts sautéed with turmeric in a sauce)
This dish is traditional in our state of Minas Gerais. This is how my mom used to do since I had my first chicken "ensopado". INGREDIENTS: One chicken cut up into pieces 2 onions 1 lemon 1 tbs salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric 1 cup of freshly chopped parsley with green onions ½ cup oil Rinse the chicken cuts on water.
In a large sauté pan, combine the oil, salt, garlic powder, two chopped onions, and ground turmeric. Place the chicken pieces and fry. Move the pieces with a wood spoon to evenly fry the pieces and make them get the yellow color from the turmeric. Fry for about 20 minutes, or until medium done, and drain excess of fat. Return the sauté pan to heat and add about two cups of water to make a sauce. Simmer for about 10 minutes and finally combine the cup of chopped parsley and green onions. Taste it to see if you need to add more salt, also check if the chicken is cooked enough. At this point you can add okra as you see on the photo (optional). Add 1lb of chopped okra (you can buy them at any frozen section of grocery stores) and cook until tender. Serve with white rice.
RABADA
(Oxtail in sauce with celery or breaded) Rabada is traditional in our region of Minas Gerais State. There, we usually prepare rabada with Agrião. But here in US we did not find Agrião, so we replaced it with celery. The final results are similar. As most of the Brazilian recipes, the rabada goes through two cooking processes Portugueses brought to Brazil. The first process is the “ferventar”. We use ferventar to make desserts as well as meats. Ferventar is basically to lightly boil the food in plenty of water to sterilize the food and to reduce the fat content in case of meats. The “refogar” process is similar to the Chinese process of stir-fry or the French Sauté process. We use refogar to release the smell and taste of the meats and vegetables and blend their taste with the taste of spices used in a dish. But there is a difference, we use refogar a food even when we are preparing a stew, or a soup. INGREDIENTS: 4 lbs of oxtail cut ups. 1 cup of lemon juice 1 cup of cachaca (or vodka) ½ cup oil 5 cloves of garlic minced 2 diced onions 2 cups chopped celery 1 cup grated carrot 4 bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt red pepper (optional) TUTU DE FEIJÃO
TUTU DE FEIJÃO
(Pinto beans puree) INGREDIENTS: 1 lb cooked pinto beans. 1/2 lb of smoked sausage. 1 cup of seasoned manioc flour (farofa) 2 tbs of olive oil PREPARE: Liquefy in a blender or food processor the cooked pinto beans with the remaining water. Beans will become a cream. Add more cold water if necessary. Heat a medium saucepan with oil and pour the beans cream into the pan. Stir vigorously while adding the seasoned cassava flour. Add sausage. Hint: Manioc flour needs to be added while the bean cream is cold to avoid lumps. SERVE: Decorate the dish with green olives and hard-boiled eggs. SERVING SIZE: 6 portions.
VATAPÁ
(Spicy shrimp puree) INGREDIENTS: 1 French or Italian bread, soaked in water 2 tablespoon peanut butter 1 lb cooked shrimp 1 cup dried shrimp (optional) Ground seasoning with parsley, onion and ginger. Salt. 2 cups coconut milk ½ cup palm oil PREPARE: Combine in a blender all the ingredients except the cooked shrimps. Pour the mixture in a large saucepan and simmer for about 20 minutes or until you get a thick cream. Add the shrimps and cook additional 10 minutes. SERVE: Place the vatapa in a ceramic casserole to serve. Serve on the top of white rice or as a filling in acarajes. SERVING SIZE: 6 portions
ACARAJÉ
(Deep-fried peas dough) INGREDIENTS 2 cups of black-eyed peas; soaked overnight 1 cup water 2 cloves of garlic 11/2 tablespoon ground pepper 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt PREPARE: Rub the peel off the beans against a dishtowel. Combine all ingredients in a blender. Beat for about 4 minutes or until you get a dough. Pour the mixture in a mixing bowl. Heat the oil to 350°F and deep-fry spoonfuls of dough for 8 minutes or until dark red. Pat them dry in paper towel. Stir the mixture left in the bowl frequently to avoid watery stuff. Hint: to make the traditional Acaraje, you have to combine the deep fryer oil with 3 tablespoons of palm oil. But remember: this oil mixture cannot be used to fry other dishes because of the palm oil strong taste. SERVE: Street vendors in Bahia (northeastern Brazil) split the acarajes and fill them with vatapá. SERVING SIZE: about 10 fried dough.
ANGÚ
Cornmeal porridge. Angú is a type of corn porridge or polenta from the Southeast region. You can prepare Angú either with a paste consistency (how I like it) or cook it a little more and pour in a fluted tube pan to make it pudding like consistency. The traditional Angú of Minas Gerais has no seasoning, just water and corn meal. But I prefer Angú with a little salt to taste. So we add a cube of beef bouillon in the angú we prepare. INGREDIENTS: 2 cups fine cornmeal (stone ground) 5 cups water 1 cube beef bouillon 2 tbs oil
Whisk together cornmeal and 1 cup cool tap water. Set aside. Bring 4 cups of water to full boil in a saucepan, add oil and beef bouillon. Pour the cornmeal batter into boiling water and stir until thickened, about 50 minutes. Stir with a wood spoon. If you stop stirring the angu create hot bubble splashes that can burn you.
Cook less time if you‟d like a past consistency angu and serve hot. If you‟d like a shaped angu, cook the whole 50 minutes and pour in a bundt or fluted tube pan. Wait angu to cool before releasing in a serving plate. You can cover the angu with a meat sauce to serve.
BRIGADEIRO
(Chocolate fudge candy) INGREDIENTS: 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon margarine 3 tablespoon cocoa powder COOK: Over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the sweetened condensed milk, margarine and cocoa powder. Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring. Pour the mixture in a greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. Take small amounts of the mixture with a teaspoon and make 1 ½ inch balls. Roll the balls over chocolate jimmies to decorate. Hint: Grease your hands with margarine to make the balls easily. SERVE: Place the balls in candy cups to serve. They are great for birthday parties.
SERVING SIZE: 40 candies.
BEIJINHO DE COCO
(Coconut fudge candy) INGREDIENTS: 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk 1 cup of grated coconut ½ cup of coconut milk 3 egg yokes 40 cloves to decorate.
COOK: Over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the sweetened condensed milk, grated coconut and egg yokes. Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring. Pour the mixture in a greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. Take small amounts of the mixture with a teaspoon and make 1 ½ inch balls. Roll the balls over granulated sugar to decorate and stuck a clove on the ball. Hint: Grease your hands with margarine to make the balls easily.
SERVE: Place the balls in candy cups to serve. They are great for birthday parties.
SERVING SIZE: 40 candies.
CAJUZINHO
(Chocolate fudge candy with roasted peanuts) INGREDIENTS: 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk 1 tablespoon margarine 1 cup of ground roasted peanuts 3 tbs powdered cocoa 1 cup of granulated sugar and about 30 peanuts to decorate COOK: Over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the sweetened condensed milk, powdered cocoa, margarine and ground peanuts. Cook the mixture for about 10 minutes until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring. Pour the mixture in a greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. Take small amounts of the mixture with a teaspoon and make 1 ½ inch cone shaped candies. Roll the cones over granulated sugar and stuck a peanut halve on the cone bottom to decorate. Hint: Grease your hands with margarine to make the cones easily. SERVE: Place the cones in candy cups to serve. They are great for birthday parties.
SERVING SIZE: 30 candies. I personally prefer using the above recipe when I will dip the candies in chocolate and make bonbons. When I will just roll them over in sugar as you see in the picture, I prefer this second recipe for Cajuzinhos (actually this second recipe is more traditional): This recipe does not use condensed milk neither cooking. INGREDIENTS: 4 tbs powdered cocoa 2 cups of ground roasted peanuts 2 cups of granulated sugar 1 egg yolk 2 tbs of milk to moist the dough about 60 peanuts to decorate Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Mix in the egg yolk to make a dough and knead the dough while adding drops of milk to moist. Dough should be sufficient elastic to shape. Take small amounts of the dough with a teaspoon and make 1 ½ inch cone shaped candies.
Roll the cones over granulated sugar and stuck a peanut halve on the cone bottom to decorate.
QUINDIM
(Coconut with egg pie) INGREDIENTS: 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup grated coconut 1 tablespoon margarine 5 egg yolks 1 egg white beaten stiff
PREPARE: Preheat oven to 350 °F. Combine in a bowl the sugar, coconut and butter. Beat in an electric mixer while adding the egg yolks one at a time. Add the egg white at last. Pour the mixture into 12 greased muffin pans. (You also can use a 9-inch pie pan). Place the muffin pan in a large roasting pan. Fill roast pan with boiling water to about 1 inch deep. (muffin pan should not float). BAKE: for 30 minutes or until golden brown. On the top of the cups, you will see the coconut flakes darkening. SERVE: Release the pie from the pan and turn the pie upside down to serve (coconut flakes on the bottom). Serve refrigerated. SERVING SIZE: 12 mini pies or 12 slices. CANJICA
CANJICA
(hominy sweet meal) This is one of dishes inherited from Brazilian native Indians. This cereal meal is traditionally served during "Festa Juninas" - traditional parties that celebrate Saints Peter, John and Anthony during months of June and July (winter in Brazil). INGREDIENTS: 1 package white hominy (1lb) 1 Qt gal milk 1/2 cup grated coconut 1/2 cup roasted peanuts (unsalted / chopped in a food processor) 1 cup granulated sugar 1 pinch salt
PREPARE:
Wash and drain hominy. Then place grains in a nonmetallic bowl and soak overnight. Pour soaked grains with the remaining water in a pressure cooker. Cook for about 20 minutes after the regulator starts to blow steam or until tender. In a large saucepan, bring the milk to boil. Drain the hot grains in a colander and add immediately to boiling milk. Combine the spices: grated coconut, roasted peanuts, sugar and pinch of salt. Hint: For a perfect Canjica, always combine hot hominy with hot milk (both should be boiling when put together). SERVE: Serve hot in a cereal bowl during breakfast or as a snack. Great for that fall chilly nights. 6 servings STORAGE: Keep in a fridge for 1 week or freezer for 3 months.
BEACH BANANA COBBLER
This is a very easy pie that my mom used to make since I was a child. In Brazil we have several types of bananas. In US, use the yellow banana you commonly find in grocery stores. Prefer the slightly green bananas for this baked pie. INGREDIENTS: 1 qt milk 10 tbs granulated sugar 3 tbs of powdered sugar 5 tbs corn starch 3 separated eggs Ground cinnamon 12 bananas split in halves. (prefer slightly green ones) PREPARE: Cream: In a saucepan, combine 10 tbs of granulated sugar with 5 tbs of cornstarch. Stir in the egg yolks. Pour the milk in. Mix with a wood spoon. Bring the liquid to boil and simmer for about 20 minutes until you get a cream. Let cream cool before assembling the pie. Cover the bottom of pan with 1/2 of cream. Make a layer with 1/2 of the bananas and sprinkle granulated sugar and cinnamon. Distribute the remaining cream. Make a second layer with the remaining bananas and sprinkle sugar and cinnamon. Beat egg whites in small mixer bowl until it becomes stiff peaks, keep mixing and add 3 tbs of powdered sugar. hint: add a pinch of baking powder while beating make it increase in volume. Cover the pie with this icing. Preheat oven to 325 °F and bake pie for 5 minutes or until icing becomes golden brown. SERVING: Serve warm or refrigerated. STORAGE: Keep refrigerated for one week. Do not freeze.
RABANADAS ( dessert made with french bread and eggs)
INGREDIENTS: 1 can (14 Oz) sweetened condensed milk 1 cup water 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 20 slices French bread 3 eggs Sugar and cinnamon to sprinkle Buy the French bread the day before, slice it and let stay overnight in an open container (or basket). Mix the three eggs in a plate. In a medium bowl, mix the condensed milk with cup of water and vanilla. Take each slice of bread and soak in the bowl with the dissolved condensed milk, drain the excess and coat the slice in the plate with eggs. Shake off any excess and deep-fry Rabanadas at 330 °F for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Deep-fry 2 to 4 slices depending on the size of your fryer. Pat dry fried slices in a paper towel. Arrange them in a dish and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. In US our guests prefer the Rabanadas just sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. But in Brazil we see people serving Rabanadas with a sugar sauce. That makes the dessert more moist. To make a sugar sauce, bring to boil, in a saucepan, one cup of water and three cups of granulated sugar. Add cloves and lemon zest. When boiling, deep the already fried Rabanadas in this sauce for couple minutes and place the slices in the serving dish. Origin: Rabanadas is common during Christmas. But you can enjoy this dessert all year long. The first colonizers that came from Portugal to Brazil brought several heavily sweet dishes made with eggs such as the Ambrosia, Papo de Anjo, and Rabanadas. By that time, sugar in Europe was scarce, but in the tropical Brazil the colonizers could crop plenty of sugar cane for their favorite desserts and beverages. That's why Brazilians crave for sugar. Since the origins we learnt to add lots of sugar and molasses to our coffee, juices, cakes and desserts. Rabanadas are traditional in Brazil and some parts of Europe as you could see by its history. Today, in Brazil, people buy granulated sugar in 10-pound bags in grocery stores. If you already had coffee in Brazil, you know how sweet it is. Even Coca-Cola is sweeter in Brazil then in US. And it is very common to see moms adding sugar to babies' formula.
COCADA BRANCA
(White coconut flakes candy) This is a recipe of white coconut candy. We call this „white‟ because we have opposite the black cocada (cocada preta). The black cocada is made with brown sugar and have a dark brown color. INGREDIENTS 4 cups granulated sugar 1 cup water 2 coconuts 4 cloves and 1 cinnamon stick (optional) PREPARE: Grate the coconuts with a hand grater (Do not use blender, food processor. Coconut flakes already grated will not taste the same as freshly grated coconuts). In a large saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cloves and cinnamon. Boil for about 20 minutes or until you get a thick syrup. In order to know if you boiled enough; drop a full teaspoon of syrup in a glass with water. The syrup should become a soft candy. (You can remove the clove and cinnamon from the syrup at this point). Remove the saucepan from the heat and combine the grated coconut. Mix in with a wood spoon. Return the saucepan to heat and cook additional 5 minutes. (Make the water glass test again to determine when you cooked enough). Use a large spoon to drop amounts of melted cocada in a buttered baking sheet. Let them cool and serve.
SUSPIRO
SUSPIRO
(Egg whites candies) INGREDIENTS: 4 egg whites 10 tbs powdered sugar Lemon zest (optional) Buttered paper to cover the cookie sheet. Beat egg whites in electric mixer bowl until it becomes stiff peaks, and then add sugar one spoon at a time while beating. Add lemon zest and finish beating. Hint: add a teaspoon of baking powder while beating make it increase in volume. Cover a cookie sheet with a buttered paper and drop full spoons of suspiro. You also can use a decorating bag as seen on the picture to pour the suspiro on the cookie sheet. Preheat oven to 300 (Slow oven). F Bake suspiros for about 1 hour or until lightly golden. While baking, keep the oven door partially open with a metallic spoon. Oven door should be open 1 inch for perfect baking. When done, let it cool in a wire rack and remove from buttered paper. SERVE: Serve suspiros in kids birthdays, or any other party. They will love it.
ROMEU E JULIETA (Guava paste with cheese dessert)
Some visitors were asking us for a dessert called “Romeo e Julieta” or Romeo and Juliet in English. As the name indicates this dessert is made of two things that go well together. This is a traditional dessert in my region. How to prepare Romeu e Julieta: Just cut a slice of goiabada cascão and place over a slice of fresh cheese. We make the Queijo de Minas, that is a farm cheese traditional in my region. But you can prepare with any fresh cheese. And goiabada cascão is a goiabada (guava paste) with peel on it (casca). This is a rough way to prepare the guava paste but it tastes much better. The guava paste you find at grocery stores in US is not the same. You have to buy goiabada cascão directly from Brazil. It is worth the try.
MINGAU
(Breakfast cereal meal) These are recipes of very traditional soup meals prepared in every house in Brazil. Every mom knows how to prepare these meals for their kids. Because they are so common nobody bothers to write them. But we did. They are easy to do and very nutritious. We hope you will like.
Mingau de maizena.
(Sweet corn starch meal. Great late night snack). This is a common meal served to kids in Brazil. The maizena version of this mingau is especially good for kids that need to put on a little weight.
INGREDIENTS: For each cup of milk: 1 tbs of corn starch 1 tbs granulated sugar 1 small pinch of salt 1 tbs of grated coconut (optional) Place the cold milk in a saucepan. Stir in the cornstarch, sugar, salt and coconut. Stir well until completely dissolved. Place the pan in medium-heat and boil gently for about 5 minutes or until mingau gets thick. While boiling, stir constantly with a wood spoon. Serve hot in a bowl.
Mingau de fubá com queijo.
(Sweet corn meal with cheese cubes) For each cup of milk: 1 tbs of corn meal. 1 tbs granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon of margarine 1 small piece of your favorite cheese diced into ¼-inch cubes. Place the cold milk in a saucepan. Stir in the cornmeal, sugar . Stir well until completely dissolved. Place the pan in medium-heat and boil gently for about 10 minutes or until mingau gets thick. While boiling, stir constantly with a wood spoon. Serve: place the hot mingau in a bowl, stir in the margarine and cheese cubes. The cheese will melt while you enjoy this snack. Mingau de fubá used to be very common for breakfast in place of bread.
PAMONHA
(Brazilian sweet tamales) Pamonha is the Brazilian version of Mexican tamales. Tamales are really small, but pamonhas you make them as big as your corn leaves allow. The sweet pamonhas are more popular in Brazil and you eat them as a dessert or snack. They are popular during "Festa Juninas" - traditional parties that celebrate Saints Peter, John and Anthony during months of June and July (winter in Brazil). Ingredients: 12 large corn ears. 1 cup of milk 1 cup granulated sugar 1 pinch of salt Small cubes of farm cheese to use as filling (optional) Take off the corn leaves carefully and make little bags with them. If it is the first time you prepare pamonhas, it is easy if you just use you sewing machined to make the bags. Make the bags with a flap so you can close and tie them. Grate the corns in a big bowl or just cut them out of the cob and grind them in a blender until you get a coarse paste. Combine the sugar, salt and milk to make a thick broth. Fill in the bags with this broth, add a piece of cheese if you like, tie and place in a large pan with enough boiling water to cover all the pamonhas. Simmer for about 1 hour in medium heat or until the leaves turn yellowish. Serve: Serve them warm or cool directly from the leaves bag. Each person unwrap its own pamonha to enjoy.
PE DE MOLEQUE CAKE
Pé de moleque is a dark cake, full of flavors and aroma. 2 lbs of yucca root finely grated. 2 cups granulated sugar 4oz margarine at room temperature 4 egg yolks 4 egg whites beaten until stiff peaks 2 cups coconut milk 5 oz roasted cashew nuts (chopped) 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon of anise 1 tablespoon of ground coffee 1 teaspoon of baking powder 1 pinch of salt You can chop the cashews in a blender. To prepare the yucca, you buy about 3lbs of fresh yucca root. Peel them off and finely grate them. Combine them with 2 cups of water and drain the yucca in a strainer to remove the liquid. Discard the liquid. Combine the grated and rinsed yucca in a large bowl with the coconut milk, sugar, margarine, and coffee. Mix well. In a separated container, mix in the cinnamon, cloves, anise, cashew, baking powder and salt. Then combine this mixture into the large ball with yucca batter. Mix again with a wood spoon. Mix in the egg yolks and finely the egg whites one by one as you mix the batter. Pour the batter into a buttered baking pan (or spring formed pan) and bake for about one hour at a 375 F oven or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Pe de moleque cake resembles manioc cake. But pe de moleque has more spices. This cake is common in Northeast of Brazil. In states such as Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte. Baked batter of manioc is a native indian tradition in Brazil. The cashew is native from the Amazon but became popular in the Northeast. And the spices were brought by the Portuguese. Although this area of Brazil had some influence of Dutch, this recipe specifically is a result of our most common blend indian/african/portuguese. Today, this cake is a holiday food traditional during Festa Junina (holiday celebration for Saint Anthony, John and Peter that happens every year in Brazil)
Everyday Menus
Ten Daily Menus 1 Lettuce salad with croutons Roast meat with potatoes Green corn soufflé Plain white rice Dessert: milk pudding 2 Cooked vegetable salad Meat casserole with fried banana Fried eggs Farofa Rice Dessert: fruit jelly 3 Palm heart salad Dory with shrimp sauce Plain rice Cauliflower in breadcrumbs Dessert: sweet made from guava and cheese 4 Oven-roasted dried cod with potatoes, tomatoes and olives Dessert: fruit salad
5 Complete feijoada Rice, flour, orange slices, shredded cabbage Dessert: lemon sorbet 6 Mixed salad Shrimps with chuchu Rice Dessert: pumpkin sweet with coconut 7 Chicken with brown sauce with okra and cornmeal Rice Egg farofa Dessert: rice pudding with cinnamon 8 Lettuce salad Oven-cooked macaroni Dessert: chocolate creme and fruit 9 Green bean salad with rosemary Roast beef Oven-cooked rice and creamed corn Dessert: sliced bananas 10 Loin of pork with beans thickened with cassava flour Hard-boiled eggs with fried potatoes Rice Dessert: grated coconut sweet with curd cheese