Casa de Feijuada

I damn near had a food coma after eating all this:
Feijuada... Brazil's national dish- a stew made of black beans and a combination of many many many different smoked and sun-dried meats-- mainly pork, smoked sausages and beef. Originally created by Africans as a way to use leftover/ undesireable meats such as pigs ear, feet, tail. Don't let the ingredients fool you- this dish has been perfected over hundreds of years. The the stew is slow cooked in a clay pot for hours melding the flavors of the beans and smoked meat perfectly and making the meat fall apart tender.

Starters:

Crusty bread w/ butter & cheese, olives & smoked sausages

Traditionally served with a ton of sides. Our meal included: white rice, collard greens minas gerais style, fried manioc, farfoa, oranges & pork rinds.

Plated for you right at your table:

Also, this is where I had that AMAZING Brazilian Fish Stew I told y'all about and had to re-create at home (check it out in my older posts)
For dessert: pumpkin & coconut compote, banana compote, and milk compote.

And if all that wasnt enough, your meal includes complementary lime and passion fruit cocktails all night (batida).

The art of drinking young coconut water (água de coco):

Coconut water,the juice found in young (green) coconuts is an excellent rehydrator and had many nutritional benefits. It contains more electrolytes than sports drinks and contains tons of natural sugar, salt and vitamins including potassium, calcium, protein, fiber, and magnesium. In fact, it has the same salt concentration as human blood and has even been used as a substitute for plasma transfusions.

So you've never had fresh coconut water before? Here are some tips on how to get the most of every nut--

- start by cutting the top of the coconut. Some people like to cut the coconut in thirds and drink it from the boat like vessels. Either way, its gotta be fresh or it loses some of its flavor and health benefits
- drink the deliciousness!
- Crack the coconut if you haven't already and chop off a small portion of the outer shell to use as a scoop (about the size of your four fingers pressed together)
- use the shell you cut off like a spoon to scoop out all the yummy coconut meat (young coconut meat is still soft enough for you to scoop out easily by hand)




There you have it a super healthy, natural and refreshing drink!

If you dont want to go through all that work (even though its definitely worth it), you can also find frozen young coconut at most international markets. As a child, this was my all time favorite drink & brand:

Note* the freshly frozen coconut is MUCH better than the canned stuff (nutritionally and taste wise)

Galetos! (baby chicken)

One of my favorite meals in Brazil had to be the Galeto's (both my 1st & last meal). Its a simple dish-- baby chicken brushed with a lime, vinegar, garlic solution and slowly charbroiled over an open fire- simple and delicious! As the juice from the baby chicken drips into the charcoal pit, the flame rises creating a thin crispy skin and wonderful smokey flavor. The frango (chicken) meat is fall off the bone tender and juicy -- absolutely amazing! The galeto's are served with a totmato onion-salsa, oil, vinegar, and salt.

My favorite spot was: "Quick Galeto's" a modest dine in bar located one block from Copacabana Beach. Check out the video below:



They also had all sorts of other grilled meats, sides and salads-- their beef skewers w/ green peppers and onions is also a winner. They even add bacon strips to the meat making the beef taste even smokier!!!
Grilled Beef Skewers w/ green peppers & onions


Hearts of Palm, tomato, avocado, onion salad

And of course galetos!


And the elderly owners are too cute ;)
http://www.quickgaletos.com/

Life's a Beach w/ Treats!

If you want to live like a true carioca (native of Rio), you gotta know Rio beach food. Rio de Janiero has one of the most beautiful beaches in the world- soft sand, beautiful warm water, and of course great food!

What could make any beautiful beach day better? BBQ!!!



Food on a Stick: Beach vendors go around w/ with hand held charcoal grills in one hand (above) and a cooler filled with either meat, cheese or shrimp on a stick and grill your food right there on the spot-- Ahhh, the life!!!
Shrimp on a stick served w/ fresh limes:
2 sticks for R$5 ($2.50 US)



Mate Gelado:
Nick being the Baltimorian that he is was overjoyed to discover the matte man. A guy walks up and down the beaches with 2 ice cold kegs- one filled with iced tea (or matte) and the other filled with lemonade. For R$2 (or US $1), he lets you fill up whatever proportion of half-and-half (or Arnold Palmer) you prefer.

Other great beach and/or street vendors:
- Corn on the cobb with as much buttery goodness as you can brush on
- Tapiocas: crepes made on the spot and filled with anything from cheese to coconut
- Roasted Nuts
- Fresh coconut water
- Caipirinha-- a national favorite drink
(more on the latter 2 in future posts)

...and of course beer (SKOL!)

Bom-dia Brazil!!!

I just spent an amazing week in Rio de Janeiro- Brazil and want to share some of my cultural and culinary adventures with you all!

A little background on Brazilian food--
Brazilian cuisine is a unique combination of three main cultures: Native Indians (aboriginals), Portugese (colonizers), and the Africans (slaves). The ingredients and cooking techniques of these people are all integrated into the food that is Brazil.

While Brazil has a very diverse immigrant community, including the largest Japanese population outside of Japan (Sao Paulo in secific), most of these other cultures have retained their own culinary identity and are not as integral to Brazilian cuisine.

Over the next few weeks I'll be blogging about all things Brazil and sharing with you the deliciousness of Rio de Janeiro!