One Last Meal

The perfect end to this amazing adventure of touring Brazil and learning the ins and outs of it culinary identity was cooking for a couple we met in Salvador who ended up becoming great friends. For them I prepared three courses, each an interpretation of my favorite traditional dishes and ingredients from my time in Brazil.

The first using picanha and manjioca, the Brazilian "meat and potatoes." The picanha was seared hard and served medium rare over a puree of manjioca and accompanied by slow roasted tomato confit. Simple, and delicious!

The next plate was my take on Fejao Tropeiro. Instead of the traditional one pan method of cooking beans, vegetables, sausage and scrambled eggs together, I deconstructed the dish to clean it up and develop the flavors of each ingredient further. The beans, cooked with garlic and onions and tossed with farinha de manjioca, became the base of the plate supporting two crispy links of succulent linguica (Brazilian sausage) and a perfectly poached egg: a much cleaner presentation as opposed to a dish that is traditional scooped onto a plate, cafeteria lady style.

Finally, I did Acaraje. But instead of serving it much like a sandwich - it is street food, after all - I sliced open the fried dough and used it as a bowl to hold the filling of sauteed okra, tomatoes and sun-dried shrimp. This was all then topped with parmesan, broiled, and served with a spicy paste of garlic, onions and Azeite de Dende.

Salvador, Bahia

Salvador is the largest city on the northeast coast of Brazil and is the capital of the state Bahia. It is well known for its easy going population and numerous outdoor parties. There is a large African influence that is notable in its cuisine, art and music. 

One of the two most famous ingredients in Bahian cuisine is Azeite de Dende, similar to palm oil, and shrimp that are tossed in this oil and dried in the sun.

Another staple of Bahian cuisine is Acaraje. This dish is made from dough of peeled-back black eyed peas formed into a ball and deep fried in Azeite de Dende. It is served split in half and filled with spicy pastes made from shrimp, cashews, okra and green and red tomatoes. It is sold in various huts throughout the city that are all run by Bahian women wearing the traditional Bahian attire of white dresses and colorful headscarves. 

Moqueca, a seafood stew, is another popular dish in Bahia. Onions, garlic, tomato, cilantro, Azeite de Dende, and coconut milk make up the base of this stew. Shrimp or crab are the typical fishes used. 

Minas Gerais

Yet another amazing experience using local ingredients of Minas Gerais to prepare a three course meal for a party of 12. Although this was one of the smallest kitchens that I worked in, it was open to the dining room- rare in Brazilian homes where most kitchens are closed to the rest of the house. This enabled me to interact with the clients and their guests. A fun and lively group plus a perfect execution of the meal made for a very successful night.