Brazil: Menu Guide

the appetizer:

Brazil's culinary influences include not only Amerindian and Portuguese foods, but the cooking styles of immigrants from many other parts of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Each of the country's five geographic regions offer cuisines that are distinctly different yet recognizably Brazilian.

Brazil

Menu Guide

coxinhas: an appetizer of breaded "mock" chicken legs. It is also a pastry filled with chicken.

siri recheado: crab shells stuffed with a mixture of minced crabmeat, cilantro and hot peppers, topped with grated cheese.

rabada ensopada: oxtail stew.

feijoada: Brazil's spectacular national dish. It is an elaborate stew with black beans and many different smoked and sun-dried meats, especially pork, and smoked sausages. It is served with several traditional side dishes, including orange slices, shredded kale, rice, manioc (cassava) meal browned in butter and a hot pepper and lemon sauce.

picanha com batata doce frita: a popular cut of steak served with fried sweet potatoes.

bobo de camarao: fresh shrimp in a purée of dried shrimp, manioc (cassava) meal, coconut milk and nuts, flavored with a palm oil called dende.

peixe na telha: fish grilled and served on a tile.

couve a minera: shredded kale sautéed briefly in oil, onion and garlic.

abacaxi assado: baked pineapple.

doce de leite: a rich, soft caramel mixture made from thickened milk and sugar. It is sometimes put in small pastry shells.

From Eat Smart In Brazil. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, Ginkgo Press.