On the Road - Rio de Janeiro (Pt. 1) - The Cuisine of Rio (Comida Carioca)

Flavors of Brazil spent the New Year's holiday in Rio de Janeiro, celebrating New Year's Eve (Reveillon in Portuguese) along with millions of others on Rio's famous Copacabana beach - attending a free concert by some of Brazil's most famous musical talents, and being astounded by the amazing 20 minute firework show that kicked off 2011 in Brazil.

I took advantage of this trip to Brazil's most famous city and tourist destination to learn more about the carioca food culture. (Carioca is a Portuguese word that means a person from Rio de Janeiro, or any object connect to that city). Of all Brazilian cities, Rio  is the city that most retains a Lusitanian, or Portuguese, quality. For much of Brazil's colonial and post-colonial history - up to the construction of a new capital, Brasília, in the 1960s - Rio was Brazil's largesst city and capital. For a time in the 19th century, Rio was the capital not only of Brazil, but of the entire Portuguese empire - Portugal, Brazil, Guinea, Angola, Mozambique, Goa, Macau and others. So it's entirely natural that many dishes that come from Portugal are now considered part of carioca cuisine, often little changed from their Portuguese roots.

Cariocas inherited a love of salt cod (bacalhau) in all its forms from the Portuguese. A New Year's Eve party would not be complete without at least one dish of bacalhau, often the well-known Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá. When the weather turns chilly in Rio, during the winter months of July and August, cariocas yearn for a hot, satisfying bowl of the Portuguese soup known as caldo verde. Rio is also known for it's pastries and sweets, and many of the best-loved of these originated in the convents of Portugual.

Rio de Janeiro is a city with a strong and vibrant black culture, but interestingly, unlike Salvador, Bahia, it hasn't developed an african-based food culture. It is also home to many immigrant communities, and as an internationally known destination city, fittingly, it is home to restaurants from all the cuisines of the world. But true carioca cuisine is strongly based on those original colonial ties to the Portuguese motherland.

RECIPE - Spicy New Year's Sausage (Virada Picante)

New Year's parties in Brazil tend to be buffets, with food available for snacking throughout the evening. Early on, the table might be filled with salty snacks, savory dishes and finger foods. As the evening progresses, sweeter foods and desserts take the place of the snacks and appetizers. This recipe for spicy sausage is a traditional New Year's dish from the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and livens up any buffet or cocktail platter on which is is served. The quantity of peppers can be modified to suit one's taste and capacity for spicy food.
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RECIPE - Spicy New Year's Sausage (Virada Picante)

1 lb. (450 gr.) homestyle linguiça (other artesanal sausages with garlic may be substituted)
1 Tbsp. neutral vegetable oil
2 cups red onion, coarsely chopped into cube shapes
1 Tbsp. dried, flaked red pepper (or fresh Thai red peppers)
2 Tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley
2 Tbsp. finely chopped green onions (green and white parts)
4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 loaf baguette or other French or Italian bread, warmed briefly
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Prepare the sauce: If using fresh Thai peppers, crush into a paste with mortar and pestle. If using dried peppers, place in mortar. Add olive oil, then parsley and green onion. Crush lightly with pestle, but do not over-mix. Let sit at least four hours for flavors to blend.

Slice the sausage into bite-sized pieces. Fry in the vegetable until thoroughly cooked and browned. Add the red onion, and cook for about 5 minutes, until the onion is transparent, but still slightly crunchy.

Place the sausage slices and red onion on a serving platter, Drizzle the sauce over. Serve with slices of wam bread.

(Translated and adapted from Cozinha Regional Brasileira by Abril Editora)

The Lucky Foods of New Year's

In many cultures, traditional and modern, there are strong links between food and superstition or magic. Some foods bring good luck, others carry bad luck along with them. Some can be used to entrance a lover, or others can send one on his or her way.

This symbolic connection between food and superstition is very strong in Brazil. It is an important part of the rituals of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé, as it is in the celebrations of the Christian churches. Carnaval has its culinary associations, and so do the important religious holidays like Christmas and Easter.

At the turn of the year, Brazilians associate specific foods with the renewal of the calendar, attempting to include some in the menu for New Years, and avoiding others which might bring bad luck in the year to come. Some of these food traditions are indigenous to Brazil, but many have been brought there by the many immigrant groups that populated this country. For example, many Brazilians include lentils (lentilhas in Portuguese) in a New Year's menu, as even a small amount of this legume will increase one's good luck - this tradition comes to Brazil from Italy, though many Brazilians are unaware of this Italian origin.

The ritual eating of pomegranates (romã in Portuguese) is said to bring money in the year to come. One must eat seven seedlets, without swallowing the seeds themselves. These seeds must be dried and carried in one's wallet throughout the year to ensure that the wallet remains full of money.  The fig (figo in Portuguese) also brings prosperity to those who consume it at New Year's.

Because swine use their snouts to root forward in the soil, eating pork is considered lucky by Brazilians, and supposedly ensures that one's pantry will remain full in the New Year. Turkey and crab are unlucky at this time of year, and should be avoided. 

And finally, champagne livens not only the party at which is it served, but the lives of those who imbibe it at New Year's all year long.

Brazilian New Year's Traditions

Brazilians love New Year's Eve and New Year's Day - for many, this holiday period is as important a celebration as are Christmas and Carnaval, the other two major holidays in Brazil. New Year's Eve is usually called "Reveillon" in Brazil, borrowing the term from the French.

Reveillon is a time of celebration, both festive and religious or symbolic. Throughout the country, it is customary to wear only white on New Year's Eve, and the clothes must be new in honor of the new year. In some cities, Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza in particular, the evening includes not only private parties, but huge gatherings on the cities' beaches with fireworks displays at midnight, and free concerts with some of the most important music stars in the country. Rio's beaches are also the scene of an Afro-Brazilian religious ritual, in which white-clad women and men walk to the edge of the sea and there leave offerings for the goddess of the sea, Yemanjá.
 
At private parties, in homes and in social clubs, New Year's Eve's menu usually consists of a number of appetizers, or other finger food, rather than a full-course sit-down dinner. The symbolic beverage of choice, naturally, is champagne, but many prefer to drink beer, whiskey, or cocktails. The following post has a traditional New Year's recipe from Minas Gerais.

 New Year's parties in Brazil really only begin at midnight, with guests arriving up to the last minute, and continue well past dawn on January 01. For obvious reasons, therefore, New Year's Day itself is a day of rest and recovery, and is considerably quieter than the previous evening.