Doce de Banana com Creme e Suspiro

This delicious dessert consisting of layers of ripe, caramelized bananas, vanilla pastry cream and crispy meringue was a family favorite when I was growing up, prepared often both by my grandmother and mother, as we always had dozens of bananas and plenty of fresh milk and eggs regularly coming from my grandfather's farm. And because these ingredients are fairly available all over Brazil, this dessert is popular in many places.

As simple as it may seem, there are a few things that can go wrong with this dessert: bananas have to be really ripe, and cooked enough with the caramelized sugar to prevent oozing liquid while being baked. The pastry cream has to be thick enough to hold shape when cut, but not excessively, or it becomes rubbery. The meringue should be baked in a very low heat oven, otherwise the center remains humid and chewy when the surface is already baked and golden brown.

This versatile desert combines several textures and flavors. It is eye-catching, especially when served in individual clear bowls or dessert glasses,  and yet cheap and simple to make. I hope it also becomes a favorite with your family!

Doce de banana com creme e suspiro
(Caramelized banana with pastry cream and meringue)

Ingredients:

Caramelized bananas
1 lb (500 g)  peeled ripe bananas (aprox. 5 units)
1/2 lb (250 g) granulated sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cinnamon sticks

Pastry Cream
2 1/8 cups (500 ml) whole milk
1/2 vanilla bean
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 generous pinch salt
32 g cornstarch
3 egg yolks
2 oz (60 g) butter, diced

Meringue

4 egg whites (150 ml)
1-3 drops lemon juice
300 g sugar

Method:

1. For the caramelized bananas, cut bananas into thick rounds. Melt the sugar in a heavy-based saucepan until a light caramel forms. Add banana rounds, orange juice and cinnamon stick and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Discard the cinnamon and spread the compote on a 8 x 8 in (20x20 cm) flameproof dish.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the pastry cream. Cut the vanilla pod in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds with the tip of a knife. Combine pod and seeds with the milk in a saucepan and heat until just below boiling. Combine dry ingredients and egg yolks in a bowl to form a paste. Add one third of the scalded milk to the bowl, stirring constantly, until well combined. Pour this mixture back into the pan and cook, over medium heat and stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat, discard the vanilla bean pod and add the butter, stirring well to combine. Pour over the banana compote layer spreading evenly, being careful not to mix the two layers. Let cool.

3. Preheat the oven to 200oF (90oC).

4. For the meringue, whisk egg whites and lemon juice in a stand mixer, on medium speed, until the volume is four times the original volume (about 2 minutes). Add the sugar slowly, increase the speed to high and whisk for about 3 more minutes, until it holds firm peaks. Spread over the pastry cream, or use a pastry bag with the tip of your choice to pipe it artistically.

4. Bake for about 1 hour, until the meringue is set and dry in the center. Serve cold.

Optional: use a blow torch to turn the meringue tips dark brown. 

Chef''s tip: this dessert doesn't hold very well in the fridge (1-2 days), because the meringue absorbs the moisture from the other layers and becomes mushy. Good thing is it never lasts that long!

Brigadeiro - easy to make, delicious and authentic Brazilian

Growing up, I'd never been a big fan of chocolate, maybe because it was an expensive delicacy for a family as big as ours (four kids!), or maybe just because we used to have so many delicious fruit compotes and other home-made desserts to choose from that chocolate could be almost forgotten, at least when we were in the comfort of our home. But over time, and especially after I moved to the U.S., I started to appreciate chocolate more and more, both as an ingredient and per se - the more cocoa content, the more I like it!

Brigadeiros are "the" chocolate confection of Brazil, and lately they were so in fashion that one could find "brigaderias" everywhere in Brazil, selling all kinds of variations of this national favorite. But the authentic brigadeiro has only one simple and authentic recipe, which is inexpensive, ridiculously easy to make and, the best of all, you can find the ingredients for it almost anywhere in the globe. There's one thing, though, you probably won't be able to find, at least in the U. S.: the cute, tiny little paper cups they are traditionally served on.

Brigadeiros became popular in the 1940, and are named after a president candidate at that time, Brigadeiro (Brigadier) Eduardo Gomes. In some parts of Brazil, it is also know as "negrinho" (literally, little black boy). It is a mandatory item in birthday parties, especially kids' parties. Mind you brigadeiros are rich and extremely sweet, that's why they are usually made the size of a truffle - roughly 1 in. in diameter. 

Authentic Brigadeiro

Ingredients:

1 can sweetened condensed milk (I always buy La Lechera or Carnation)

3 Tbsp good quality cocoa powder

1 Tbsp butter

1 cup chocolate sprinkles (jimmies), approximately

butter to grease the plate and hands

Method:

1. Grease a dinner plate with butter.

2. Combine sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder and butter in a saucepan.

3. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, for approximately 10 minutes, or until the spoon leaves a track on the bottom of the pan (see picture).

4. Pour onto buttered plate. Let cool completely.

5. Place the chocolate sprinkles in a bowl. Arrange the paper cups (if using) on a tray or plate.

6. Grease your clean hands lightly with butter and roll the dough into 1 in balls (about 1 tsp).

7. Roll each ball immediately in the chocolate sprinkles (if you wait, sprinkles won't stick to it) and place on prepared paper cups. 

Chef's Tips:

- To make brigadeiros even more delicious, I add 1/8 tsp instant coffee and a pinch of salt to 1/4 tsp vanilla, stir well and add to the pan, together with all the other ingredients.

- If the dough is too soft to roll, place it in the fridge for a few minutes to make your job easier. You may also want to wash your hands every now and them to keep them clean. Don't forget to butter them before rolling the brigadeiros.

- You can improvise with the paper cups, or used the smallest one you can find lined with a square or round of cellophane wrap. They look wonderful when displayed on a tray or table.

- Brigadeiros don’t need refrigeration and can be kept for up to one week in a sealed container. Or maybe more -- mine never survived that much!

Coma com moderação!    ;o)

Baião de dois - flavorful rice and beans dancing on your palate

More than twenty years ago, when I was living in Campinas, a city of Sao Paulo state, I used to sing in a Chorus called COCA - Coral Campinas - with my dear friend Ana Paula Gomes. It was my preferred activity of the week! One of the songs of our repertoire was this Baião de ninar, by Gerson:

“Este baião, eu inventei pra ninar

o meu amor num berço feito de raio de luar

baião, oi, de ninar, baião, oi, de ninar”

(Here’s a version by another Brazilian chorus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiT6mspIX74)

Baião is both the name of a traditional Brazilian dance and the music that is played to rock the dancing couples, that hold each other very closely and move to the 2-bars beat all night long.

The name of this dish is an allusion to this engaging dance, but here, instead of a loving couple, the two quintessential ingredients of the Brazilian diet - rice and beans, cooked together and enhanced with a few or several delicious  ingredients, such as bacon, cheese, sausage, scrambled eggs and fresh cilantro (there are many variations throughout Brazil). But beware - very, very hard to stop eating!

The beans of choice for this recipe are the black eyed beans / peas. I found them fresh in my local supermarket, but you can also use canned, or cook your own at home. The difference is that when you use the beans cooking liquid to prepare the rice, the flavor of the finished dish is superior (and that gooey thing surrounding canned beans won’t do it. By the way, rinse them very well before adding to the pan.)

Baião de dois

(Dish of rice and beans cooked together)

Ingredients:

1 lb (500 g) carne de sol / charque (Brazilian jerked beef)

12 oz (340 g / 2 cups) fresh (quick cooking) black eyed peas

3.5 oz (100 g / 3/4 cup) diced slab bacon

1 Tbsp (3 cloves) garlic, minced

7 oz (200 g / 1 cup) diced onion

2 cups white rice, uncooked

1/2 cup freshly chopped herbs (flat-leaf parsley, cilantro, chives)

1/2 cup diced queijo de coalho (or Finish-style baked cheese)

chili oil, to taste

Method:

1. Rinse the carne seca, cut into 0.5 in. cubes and soak in cold water for about 4 hours, changing the water every one hour. Cook in cold water, in a pressure cooker for about 30 minutes, or in a regular pan until tender (about 2 hours). Remove from the pan, reserving the liquid. Set aside.

2. Cook the beans in cold water for about 20 minutes, until tender, but firm to the bite. Drain, saving the cooking liquid, and set aside.

3. Heat a large saucepan and add the bacon. Cook until golden brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat in the pan. Set aside.

4. Saute the onion in the hot bacon fat until light golden brown. Add the garlic and sauté until golden brown. Add the cooked carne seca and the beans to the pan. Stir in the rice and approximately 3 1/2 cups of cooking liquid, starting with the beans liquid and complementing with the meat liquid. Stir well to combine and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, partially cover the pan and cook until the rice is al dente, adding more liquid as needed. Turn off the heat, cover the pan and let rest for at least 5 mintues.

5. Fluff the rice with a fork, add chili oil to taste and stir in the chopped herbs and the diced cheese, being careful to not over stir it. Serve with sauteed collard greens, farinha de mandioca torrada (toasted manioc flour) and more hot pepper on the side.

Bife rolê (Brazilian-Style Beef Rolls)

This week, my dear friend KJ Mohr, her twins, and parents stopped to visit us and I cooked bife rolê for them. When I opened the bubbling pot on the table, Kristin said: “Rouladen is my mom’s specialty!”. I did not know Germans had their version of beef rolls - with mustard, bacon and sometimes pickles, “but no tomato sauce”, as KJ’s mom explained to me. Fortunately, they all seemed to like the Brazilian version, especially the twins!

My mom used to make bife rolê for us very often, and I remember well untying them at the table and picking up every last bit of meat attached to the twine. Although they can be a little time consuming, it’s an easy way of transforming an inexpensive cut of meat in a delightful meal. I hope you also enjoy this Brazilian version of rouladen, that has also been published in Portuguese, in 2011, at the wonderful Mapa da Cachaça website.

Bife rolê 

(Brazilian-Style Beef Rolls)

Ingredients:

1 lb thinly sliced (1/4 in) beef round cutlets

3 slices bacon

2 medium carrots

2 green onions

1 tsp salt

ground black pepper, to taste

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 tsp red or white wine vinegar

1/2 tsp vegetable oil

toothpicks or kitchen twine to secure the rolls

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 tbsp tomato paste

1-2 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped

1 cup beef stock

1 tbsp chopped flat parsley, to garnish

 

Method:

1. Pound the cutlets with a beef mallet, being carefully not to tear the meat. Cut into strips approximately 4 in wide. Cut the carrots and spring onions into sticks about 4 in long. Cut each bacon slice into 3 segments.

2. Rub the garlic, salt, and black pepper together to form a paste. Mix in the vinegar and the 1 tsp oil. Season the cutlets with this paste.

3. To roll each cutlet, place a piece of bacon, a stick of carrot and a piece of green onion at one end of the strip. Roll up tightly and secure the end with one or two toothpicks, or use a piece of kitchen twine to tie it.

4. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan. Brown the beef rolls on all sides. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until wilted. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another minute, being careful not to let it burn. Add the chopped tomato and cook until it starts to form a sauce.

5. Add the stock, stir well and cover the pan. Lower the heat and cook, stirring every now and then, until the rolls are tender and the sauce has thickened and reduced (30 minute to 1 hour, depending on the tenderness of the meat).

6. Adjust the seasoning, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve, with rice or mashed potato.

Tips:

- If you are in a hurry, cook in a pressure cooker, for 15 minutes. If you have plenty of time, use a slow cooker, after browning the meat. In either case, use less stock. Reduce the sauce in the stove before serving, if necessary.

- You can make these rolls with pork, turkey and chicken cutlets, and using other stuffing ingredients, for example: sliced ham, zucchini sticks, dried plums or apricots, leaf vegetables such as collard greens and spinach, sausage, etc.)

Empadinha

Empada, or  empadinha (the diminutive of the word), is another traditional Brazilian salgadinho – the same category of savory bite-size treats that also includes the Coxinha. They look like tiny little two-crust pies, but they are savory. The empadinha’s dough can be mealy and somewhat dry (“empada de massa podre”), or thin and elastic (“empada de massa fina”, picture below), but the latter is a less common. Empadão, which is the augmentative of the word, are large savory pies sold in padarias and lanchonetes that Brazilians eat by the slice for a fast meal, usually sided by a small salad, and seasoned with some hot pepper sauce.

The most traditional empada fillings are chicken (same as the one used for Coxinha!), hearts of palm and shrimp, and all of them can include Catupiry® or requeijão (Brazilian creamy cheeses). But there are several other fillings. In large urban areas, such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, there are even places dedicated only to selling empadas, where they offer dozens of varieties.

The secret to a good empadinha is to have a moist filling and just the right amount of dough. Prepare the filling in advance, as it should be at room temperature or cold before it can be placed inside the dough shells. Baked empadas can be frozen and then reheated in the oven before serving. I hope you’ll end up enjoying these savory, tiny treats as much as I do.

Empadinha de massa podre

(mealy dough empadinha)

Hearts of palm filling

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup small dice onion

2 skinless, seedless, fresh tomatoes, finely chopped

400g (2x14oz cans) hearts of palm, diced (Roland® is a good brand)

1/2 cup frozen peas

7 small green olives, finely chopped

1 cup whole milk

1 tbsp cornstarch

salt, pepper and finely chopped Italian parsley to taste

1. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the onion over high heat until golden brown.

2. Add the tomato and cook, stirring, for 3-5 minutes.

3. Add the hearts of palm, season with salt and pepper to taste. Lower the heat to medium and let cook, partially covered, for 5 minutes. Add a little water, if too dry.

4. Add the peas and the olives to the pan and stir to combine.

5. Dissolve the cornstarch in 1tbsp of the milk, then add this mixture to the remaining milk and stir well to combine. Pour the milk into the pan, stirring constantly, and cook until thickened.

6. Turn off the heat. Add the parsley, adjust the seasoning and let cool before using.

Mealy Dough for Empada

450g (1 lb) all-purpose flour + 50g (2 oz) to dust

150g (5 oz) vegetable shortening

75g (2.5 oz) unsalted butter

2 eggs + 1 egg yolk for brushing

1 tsp salt

25ml (1 fl oz) cold water

1. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2. Add eggs, salt and water and knead to combine. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Assembling

1. To make empadinha, take small portions of the dough (roughly 1 tbsp) and use it to line the bottom and sides of an empadinha mold (or mini cupcake mold), using the tips of your thumbs.

2. Add the filling, being careful not to let it touch the rim.

3. Roll out a smaller circle of dough and cover the filling, pressing against the sides to seal and to trim the excess dough.

4. Preheat the oven to 350^oF / 180^oC. Brush the tops with egg yolk beaten with 1 tsp water and bake until golden brown. Serve warm or cold.

Casquinha de siri, a creamy crab cake on a shell

When I was a teenager growing up in Guaranésia, this tiny little town lost in the mountains of Minas Gerais State, there was only one restaurant in the city: Churrascaria do Régis. Régis was also the owner of the city’s main Hotel (there were only two), and the father of one of my classmates. My friends and I use to gather outside the Churrascaria on the weekends to chat, sing along, watch the other teens pass by and all. Every now and then, one of us would go inside and buy an ice cream, or a bottle of soda. But my dream was to go sit there, like a grown up, and order a casquinha de siri, this fancy looking appetizer served on a real shell and made with an ingredient I’d never had before: crab (there’s no ocean in Minas, salt water fish and shellfish were thus a rarity there).

When I finally tried it out for the first time, I was so excited about the occasion, about just being there, sitting inside the place and being able to pay for it that I basically ignored the fact that the casquinha barely had any crab in it. It was a gluey mix of tomato sauce and lots of bread and farinha de mandioca, and parmesan cheese on top (which, I think, is a crime against the crab!). These faults I observed in many casquinhas I had afterwards. But once you have a good one, you keep dreaming about when you’re going to have the next one! So, here’s a recipe that is as “crabby” (in a good sense) as it can be! I hope you enjoy eating it and maybe reviving that magic moment I had when I first had it.

Bom apetite!

Casquinha de siri

Yield: about 12 casquinhas (aprox. 3,5 in diameter shells)

8 oz crab meat, picked over for shells

1 slice (~1 oz) white bread, no crust

1 cup coconut milk

1 tsp minced green bell pepper, or jalapeño

1/2 cup seeded, finely chopped tomato

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1/2 Tbsp dendê oil

1/3 cup farinha de mandioca (manioc / yucca flour - see picture)

1 green onion, finely sliced

2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp chopped Italian (flat leaf) parsley

salt and pepper to taste

hot pepper sauce to taste

lemon wedges to serve

lettuce cups or shredded lettuce to serve

- Soak torn bread in coconut milk for about 1 hour.

- Sauté onion and bell pepper or jalapeño in dendê oil until soft.

- Add tomato and sauté until it begins to release liquid and form a sauce. Add crab meat.- Stir in soaked bread with coconut milk and about 1 Tbsp of farinha de mandioca. 

- Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly but slowly, until thickened. Add more farinha, if needed (mixture should be thick enough to hold its shape when mounded into shells, but not too firm!).

- Add herbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

- Spoon mixture into 12 medium-sized shells (aprox. 3.5 in diameter), mounding it a little above the rim.

- Sprinkle top generously with remaining farinha de mandioca and bake at 375^oF until golden brown.

- Serve on a lettuce cup or over shredded lettuce, garnished with a lime wedge and provide extra hot pepper sauce at the table.

Tips:

1) You can freeze the casquinhas before baking them. When ready to use, transfer them to the fridge one day ahead to thaw. Bake until golden brown and heated through right before serving.

2) If you cannot find farinha de mandioca, use plain bread crumbs.

3) If you don't have the shells, or if you want to serve them as a party snack, place the baked mixture on squares of banana leaf and decorate with a pimenta-biquinho (kiss pepper), if available (see picture).

Working on a list of useful links

As a translator and researcher in the area of Culinary Arts, I collected a series of websites links on various subjects in the area over the years (and I do this for over 10 years now!). Most of them are in Portuguese, since the majority of my work is in the English-Portuguese direction, but there are some in English too. Not all the information in the websites is accurate or well written, but it proved to be very useful in many cases, especially as a visual guidance and from the terminological stand point.

Today I started working on this list to publish here in my blog, and the first items I found were mostly related to baking (from when I translated the book Professional Baking, recently published by Manole as Panificação e Confeitaria Profissionais).

With time, I hope to work on all other areas (I have several hundreds links, some of them need updating...). I hope you also find this list useful - I think you will, especially if you are a translator.

Please, send me any questions, suggestions and/or updates for the links. Thanks!

Bobó de Camarão - a velvety Afro-Brazilian stew

Training for my upcoming buffet meal at school the other day, I cooked my first Bobó de Camarão - a velvety shrimp, yucca and coconut stew-like concoction typical of the Northeast region of Brazil, especially the Bahia state, where the presence of African gastronomic traditions are more strongly felt.

I had eaten a few Bobós before, and had a very definite idea of how it should taste. After researching several recipes on the internet, which differed quite drastically, I came out with my own. The Brazilian audience that savored the final result - including a friend from Northeastern region who was visiting us - approved it enthusiastically.

My instructor, on the other hand, told me that the texture may not be very pleasant to the North American palate, as it is reminiscent of porridge, for its thickness and starchiness. But the texture, as well and the coconut, yucca and dendê oil flavor combination, is what pleases me the most.
I hope you feel tempted to try it too, so you can give me your opinion!



Bobó de Camarão

(Shrimp, Yucca and Coconut Stew)

Yield: 60 oz (6-8 portions)

Ingredients:
18 oz frozen, peeled yucca
1 cup yucca cooking liquid (plus more, to adjust consistency)
1 can (14 fl. oz) coconut milk
1 tsp salt


1 Tbsp dendê oil
2 Tbsp olive oil
6 oz (1 cup) finely diced onion
1 oz (2 Tbsp) minced green bell pepper
1 tsp seeded, minced jalapeño
1 garlic clove, minced
0.5 oz cilantro stems (from approx. 1/2 bunch)
1 scallion, finely sliced
1 ripe tomato, seeded and finely diced
12 oz (14.5 oz frozen) peeled and deveined 51/60 (or smaller) shrimp
6 oz whole 36/41 shrimp, to garnish
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves (from approx. 1/2 bunch)


- Cook yucca in plain water (no salt) until fork tender. Drain, saving the cooking liquid. Working in batches, purée yucca while still hot in a food processor with the salt, coconut milk and 1 cup reserved liquid (save remaining liquid for thinning the stew later, if necessary).

- Heat dendê and olive oil in a large pan. Add onion, sauté until translucent. Add green pepper, jalapeño, garlic, cilantro stems and scallions and sauté until light golden brown. Add tomato and cook, stirring, until it starts to dissolve. Add shrimp and sauté until pinkish.

- Add prepared yucca cream and stir well to combine. Adjust salt and consistency adding more of the cooking liquid, if necessary.

- On a separate pan and working in batches, sauté whole shrimps in olive oil and a very thin drizzle of dendê oil. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

- Right before serving, add chopped cilantro to stew, saving some to decorate. Top serving dish or individual portions with sautéed shrimps and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro. Serve with white rice.

Cuscuz - Brazilian interpretation(s) of couscous

I finally made some time to add another recipe to this blog. I’m sorry for being away for so long, but life has been hectic - cooking classes, academic research, cookbook translation review and now I became a regular contributor to a Brazilian cooking magazine (Sabores do Interior http://www.saboresdointerior.com.br/) and to a blog about Brazilian food culture hosted by Mapa da Cachaça (http://mapadacachaca.com.br/blog), a website about the emblematic Brazilian hard liquor used to make caipirinha.

The term Cuscuz, also spelled cuscus and cuzcuz in Portuguese, refers to several preparations in different regions of the country. The origin of the plate is certainly the Middle Eastern couscous, but once it was introduced to the new tropical culture, several versions using local ingredients began to develop.

Cuscuz can be a plain, steamed, cake-like cereal made with flocos de milho pré-cozidos (yellow, precooked corn meal - “Milharina”, by Quaker, is a very well known brand). Usually served for breakfast, it’s made in the cuscuzeira, or cuscuzeiro (see picture), a steaming pan that has a perforated metal disc with a handle that seats on top of simmering water where you place the corn meal, previously moistened with salt water. This preparation is sometimes called cuscuz nordestino, especially by people that are not from nordeste, that is, the Northeast region of Brazil. It can be served with manteiga de garrafa (a type of clarified butter), queijo coalho (typical cheese from Northeast region), coconut milk, etc.

Then, there’s the cuscuz de tapioca, a sweet, flan-like version of the dish made with manioc/yucca tapioca pearls, coconut and condensed milk - I’ve never tried this one, but the pictures I saw are mouthwatering! And there is the cuscuz paulista (paulista means from São Paulo state), which is also traditionally steamed, but it is a savory dish that uses both farinha de milho (see picture) and farinha de mandioca (manioc / yucca flour).

The recipe I am going to post today is a simplified, more Minas-Gerais-style version of the later. A flavorful broth made with sautéed onion, garlic, tomatoes and your choice of shredded chicken, sardines, other fish and shrimp or vegetables is thickened with farinha de milho. It is then poured into a mold, usually a tube pan decorated with sliced boiled eggs, tomato and other vegetables such as hearts of palm and green peas. Once cooled and unmolded, it looks pretty, on top of being a complete, delicious meal.

Cuscuz de frango com farinha de milho 

(Chicken Brazilian Couscous)

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped (1/2 - 3/4 cup)

2-3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 Tbsp tomato paste

3-4 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

4 cups chicken stock or water, or a mix of both

1 chicken breast (approx. 8 oz), cooked and shredded (see the recipe for Coxinha filling)

1/2 cup corn kernels, frozen or canned (drained)

1/2 cup green peas, frozen or canned (drained)

1/2 cup hearts of palm, drained and chopped

1/2 cup chopped parsley and scallions or chives

6 oz. (aprox.) farinha de milho (flaked corn meal - see picture)

To garnish:

2 hard boiled eggs, sliced

1 ripe tomato, thinly sliced

sliced hearts of palm

sprigs of parsley

olives or green peas

lettuce leaves

Method:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and sauté until both are light golden brown. Add tomato paste and sauté for another minute, stirring constantly. Add chopped tomato and cook, on high heat, for five to ten minutes, stirring every now and then, until tomato starts to melt and release its juices.

2. Stir in stock, shredded chicken, corn, peas, and hearts of palm. Season with salt, black pepper and/or Brazilian preserved chili oil. It should be a little over-seasoned, because you’re going to add the farinha de milho later. Bring to a boil.

3. Meanwhile, lightly oil a tube mold and decorate with sliced boiled eggs, tomato, green olives, hearts of palm slices, peas and parsley sprigs, or any other ingredient you’re using to make the cuscuz or that goes well with the chosen ingredients (such as shrimps and sardine fillets, etc.).

4. Once the liquid is boiling and all flavors are all well combined, lower the heat and slowly add the farinha de milho, stirring constantly with a long handled wooden spoon. Watch out for the bubbles, as cuscuz spatters like polenta - use protective gloves to stir it until the flour is well blended with liquid and the mixture gets thick (it should be thicker than polenta). Then, cook for another 5 to 10 minutes, stirring every now and then, until mixture is creamy and thoroughly cooked. Remove from heat, add chopped herbs and mix well to combine.

5. Adjust seasoning and pour the mixture immediately onto prepared mold, being careful not to displace the decoration. Hit the bottom of the pan lightly against the counter to eliminate air bubbles and smooth the surface with a spatula. Set aside and let cool almost to room temperature before unmolding.

6. To serve, give the mold a brisk shake, place a platter on top and turn upside down. Decorate all around it with lettuce leaves.

Variations:

- Substitute 2 cans of sardines (drained), or 2 cans of tuna (drained), or 1 cup chopped shrimp and/or white fish fillets for the shredded chicken. Use water or fish stock instead. Garnish the mold accordingly.

- Make a vegetarian version by substituting extra corn, green peas, tomato, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, sliced green beans, chopped green olives, and/or hearts of palm for the chicken.

Broinhas de fubá - a cross between cream puffs and corn bread?

After all this time (last post was May 2010!), here I come with yet another Minas Gerais specialty - the broa de fubá, or broinha. I prepared some at my mom’s house during my recent 40-day trip to Brazil, and they were delicious!

Fubá, from Kimbundu fuba, is the word in Portuguese for cornmeal, or corn flour (not to be confused with the white powder British English speakers call “conflour”, Americans “corn starch”, and Brazilians amido de milho). There are two main types of fubá in Brazil - the fubá mimoso, very finely ground (like corn flour), which imparts a finer texture to foods such as porridges and cakes, and the fubá grosso, coarser and sometimes simply referred to as fubá (in terms of texture similarity, somewhere between medium to fine ground cornmeal). There are several other kinds of corn flours and meals available, and most of them have a precooked version. Together with manioc (or cassava, or yuca) flours and starches, these are the second choice of starch in Brazil (after rice), and they are also widely used in baking goods both savory and sweet.

The word broa (broinha is the diminutive) is also used in European Portuguese and in some regions of Brazil to name a type of corn bread, large and round, that used to be more popular in the past. I remember being a child and going with my mom or dad buy broa de milho at the tiny armazém near our house in Guaxupé - I was so small I could not see the wood counter top, but I could see and smell the broas de milho, fresh and beautiful, laying behind the counter glass.

It’s hard to make an outstanding broinha like those you buy in some padarias in Brazil (on the left) in a noncommercial oven, as they require high and constant heat to rapidly puff before the steam cracks open the shell and escapes. But it’s worth a try, especially if you don’t know the other version of the treat.

Some decades ago, broinhas were often made with pork lard (some people still use lard), which imparts a nice flavor, aroma and texture to the product. The smell and taste of the aniseeds, though, is what characterizes both broas and broinhas. There are also the ones made with toasted, ground peanuts - DELICIOUS! But I’m still working on that recipe. For now, try this one and let me know how they come up!

Broinhas de fubá 

(Brazilian Cornmeal Puffs)

1 cup filtered water

1 cup whole milk

1/2 cup unsalted butter (or unflavored pork lard, if you have access to a good one)

1 cup finely ground cornmeal (corn flour)

1 cup all-purpose flour (plus extra to roll the broinhas)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp aniseed

pinch of salt

5 large eggs

1) Combine corn and all-purpose flour, sugar, aniseed and salt in a bowl.

2) Combine water, milk and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

3) Add corn and flour mix at once and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until it forms a uniform ball and pulls off the sides of the pan (see picture). Let cool until warm.

4) Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition to incorporate air in the batter.

5) Preheat the oven to 400oF.

6) Oil the inside of a small bowl or rounded cup with oil. Add 1/2 tsp flour and shake to coat the sides well (do not shake off excess - this flour prevents the dough from sticking to the bowl). Using a cookie scoop or a tablespoon, drop spoonfuls of the dough inside the floured bowl and, working fast and continuously, twirl the bowl so the dough is coated in flour and forms a ball. Immediately turn the bowl upside down onto an oiled baking sheet, placing the broinha at least 2 inches apart from the sides of the pan and the other broinhas (see video - I'm working on a better one, though). Add another 1/2 tsp flour  into the bowl for each unit you make.

7) Bake immediately until deep golden brown. The inside will seem raw, but it’s not - it should be humid and hollow, like puff pastry. Serve warm or cold, plain or with butter, sided by a good cup of piping hot, strong coffee.

TIP: if the dough is too loose to apply this method, or if it starts sticking to the sides of the bowl, use the cookie scoop to place the portions of dough onto baking sheet and, using a small strainer, dust their tops liberally with flour.