RECIPE - Mashed Squash, Brazilian-style (Purê de Jerimum)

There's something uniquely appealing about mashed vegetables - which is probably why they're often atop lists of favorite "comfort foods". Perhaps it's because they are a throwback to one's early childhood when all solid food was mashed, perhaps it's because of the large amount of fat (dairy, vegetable) that mashed vegetables can carry. Whatever it is, who doesn't like mashed potatoes, or mashed anything for that matter?

Brazilians are no exception to this rule. Mashed potatoes are universally loved in Brazil, and here they really do pack a caloric punch, as they are laden with generous amounts of cream, butter and even cream cheese. But other vegetables get the mashing treatment here, and Flavors of Brazil would venture to guess that "Miss Runner-Up" in the mashed vegetable popularity contest in Brazil would be mashed pumpkin, or as it's called in Brazil, purê de jerimum.

The most common name for pumpkins in Brazil is abóbora, but they are also known, particularly in Brazil's northestern region as jerimum. The etymology of abóbora leads one back to Latin roots, and the word came to Brazil with the Portuguese. Jerimum, however, comes from the Amerindian Tupi-Guarani family of languages, and hearkens back to the vegetable's New World origins.

Like mashed potatoes, purê de jerimum is basically a mixture of mashed, cooked vegetable plus additional liquid and fat. What distinguishes purê de jerimum is that the additional liquid and fat are in the form of coconut milk, which gives the final dish an unusual and distinctive flavor, with the pumpkin's inherent sweetness brought out by the coconut milk. The high fat content of coconut milk also ensures the silky mouth-feel that's so important in mashed veggies.

Try this dish as a new side dish with roasted meats or poultry. It will be a rousing success, we promise. Even if your guests can't identify the flavor of coconut milk in the dish, they'll appreciate what it adds to the flavor profile.
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RECIPE - Mashed Squash, Brazilian-style (Purê de Jerimum)  
Serves 6

1 lb (450 gr) peeled, seeded and cubed pumpkin or other winter squash
1 1/2 cup (375 ml) canned or bottled coconut milk
salt to taste
chopped cilantro (optional)
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Cook the pumpkin in plenty of boiling water until it is very tender. Drain thoroughly in a colander, and then place the cubes in a large mixing bowl.

Using a potato mashed, mash the squash to desired consistency (some people like some texture remaining in the dish, others prefer a smooth puree).

Stir in the coconut milk and mash for a few more seconds until the coconut milk is thoroughly mixed in. Season to taste with salt.

If desired, stir in a handful or two of chopped cilantro.

Put the pumpkin in a decorative serving bowl and serve immediately as a side dish.

Recipe translated and adapted from Namorando na Cozinha blog.

RECIPE - Mixed Vegetables in Coconut Milk (Legumes Cozidos ao Leite de Coco)

Here's a Brazilian solution to an age-old dilemma - how to jazz up a side dish of vegetables and turn them into something special. We all know that a good serving of vegetables is an important part of a nutritionally balanced a dinner plate, but night after night of meat and two veg can be deadly boring.

This traditional Brazilian recipe uses one of the most important ingredients in the Brazilian larder, coconut milk, to give mixed vegetables (or even single vegetables) a spark of life. If we were Mad Men, we'd say that the coconut milk puts the "extra-" in ordinary vegetables.

It's easy to keep a can or tetra-pak of coconut milk on your pantry shelf, so this recipes great when you're lacking inspiration. Just choose a mix of vegetables to suit, add the coconut milk and you've turned your meal tropical.

Note: The vegetables indicated in the recipe below are simply suggestions. You can change them, use only one or two, or even just one vegetable. Just make sure the total weight remains approximately the same.
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RECIPE - Mixed Vegetables in Coconut Milk (Legumes Cozidos ao Leite de Coco)
Serves 4

1/2 lb boiling potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cubed
1/4 lb green beens, cut into 1 inch lengths
1/4 lb broccoli crowns, cut into florets
1/4 lb cauliflower, cut into florets
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1 Tbsp finely minced fresh Italian parsley
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
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Put all the vegetables in a large saucepan along with the bay leaf and the piece of ginger. Add just enough water to come about half way up the vegetables. Bring the water to a boil, then cover the pan, reduce heat and cook just until the vegetables are tender. Add the coconut milk, increase the heat and cook uncovered until the liquid reduces by about half. Remove from heat, remove the ginger and bay leaf, season to taste and serve immediately, spooning a bit of the liquid over each serving, then sprinkling a bit of parsley on top.

Recipe translated and adapted from Portal Sabores website.

RECIPE - Chayote Gratin (Tigelada de Chuchu)

The recipe, the second that we have published from the historical recipe collection of the Fazenda Capoava Ranch and Hotel in São Paulo state (as reimagined by chef Heloísa Bacellar) is an interesting combination between a traditional French vegetable gratin and a souffle. And the choice of chayote (chuchu in Portuguese) as the principal ingredient makes it thoroughly Brazilian as well.

The dish combines the bechamel sauce, grated cheese and bread crumbs that are integral parts of a gratin with beaten egg yolks and white that lighten it in the style of a souffle. The result is a substantial and rich side dish, one that adds some punch to the subtle delicate flavor of chayote. The dish could probably be made successfully with other vegetables if you can't find chayotes in your local market; however, this native American vegetable can increasingly be found in supermarkets everywhere, and can easily be sourced in Latin American markets.
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RECIPE - Chayote Gratin (Tigelada de Chuchu)
Serves 4

2 medium to large chayotes, peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes
1/4 cup butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3 cup finely chopped Italian parsley
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup whole milk, wamr
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
2 whole eggs, separated
softened butter and dried breadcrumbs to grease and prepare the bowl
salt to taste
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Prepare a deep ovenproof bowl or dutch oven by greasing it thoroughly with softened butter, then dusting with dried bread crumbs. Reserve.

In a medium saucepan with a lid, melt half of the butter, then add the onions and garlic and cook over low heat until they soften and just begin to brown . Stir in the cubes of chayote, cover the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring from time to time, or until the chayote is softened. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and reserve.

In a small saucepan, prepare the bechamel. Melt the butter, then slowly add the flour, blending completely to avoid lumps. When you have a thick paste, begin to add the milk, stirring constantly. When all the milk has been added continue to cook until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat and combine with the reserved chayote. Stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt. Reserve, letting cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). In a large bowl beat the egg whites to the firm peak stage. Stir the lightly beaten egg yolks into the chayote mixture, then carefully fold in the egg whites, taking care not to deflate the beaten eggs. Spoon or pour the mixture into the prepared ovenproof bowl. Smooth the surface gently, then sprinkle bread crumbs over. Put in the preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes, or until it has risen, and turned golden.

Remove from the oven and serve immediately in the bowl it was cooked in.

VEGETABLES OF BRAZIL - Green Amaranth (Caruru or Bredo)

This plant, which yields delicious green leaves that are often compared to spinach and often prepared in similar ways to spinach, is in the gastronomic sense very peripatetic - its history as a comestible has taken it back and forth across the oceans several times, obscuring its origins and engendering a confusing babel of names.

The scientific name of the plant is Amaranthus viridis, which tells us that it's a member of the large botanical family known as the amaranths. The amaranths are thought to have originated in the highlands of tropical North America, where they were a food source for Amerindians native to that region, such as the Maya. After Cortes' conquest of Mexico, Spaniards returning from the New World to the Old carried with them, among their treasures, newly discovered foods native to the Western Hemisphere. Chocolate, chili peppers, tomatoes and the domestic turkey were among Mexico's gifts to the kitchens of Spain, but so were plants like amaranth. Spanish and Portuguese explorers, colonists and slavers then carried amaranth on to Africa where it flourished and became part of the native diet.

When African slaves were forcefully brought to Brazil to work on sugar plantations and in gold mines, they brought their food traditions and their foods with them. Thus, amaranth recrossed the Atlantic ocean back to Brazil, where it became an integral part of the slaves' diet in colonial times. The route by which amaranth became part of Brazil's gastronomy, therefore, is a long one - Mexico to the Iberian Peninsula, to West Africa and finally back across the ocean to Brazil.

Because amaranth came to Brazil from Africa, not directly from Mexico, it is most strongly associated with the Afro-Brazilian cuisines of Northeastern Brazil, specifically in the state of Bahia where the African influence on cooking is strongest. In Bahia and neighboring states, the plant is normally called bredo in Portuguese. In other regions of Brazil it's better known as caruru. Confusingly, in the region where the term bredo prevails, there is a stew-type dish called caruru, made primarily with okra (quiabo) another vegetable import from Africa.

The plant's journey from Mexico to Brazil is not the only one it's made. From its Mexican origins, it has spread to India, particularly in South India, to Greece, and to the Caribbean, where the Jamaicans know it as callaloo. It has even become part of the Indian tradition of medicine known as Ayurvedic, where it is used as a medicinal herb.

Urbanized caruru/bredo

Even though the plant has significant food value, it has adapted itself so well to soil and climate conditions in Brazil that many farmers consider it invasive - a weed. It has even successfully urbanized itself and knowing foragers often spot it growing in abandoned inner city lots or even in cracks in the pavement. The smartest of these foragers have discovered this bounty and are helping themselves to a free supply of the green.

VEGETABLES 0F BRAZIL - Acelga (Napa Cabbage)

Although Asian greens, such as bok choy and gai lan, are not commonly eaten in Brazil outside the Asian communities of São Paulo's Liberdade district, one Asian form of cabbage has become a supermarket standard in Brazil, available all year round in most supermarkets in all regions of the country. Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis, known variously in English as Chinese cabbage, Napa cabbage and Chinese Leaf, is called acelga in Brazil, and under that name has made its way into many Brazilian vegetable and salad recipes. (Incidentally, the English name Napa has nothing to do with the California wine-growing district. Napa comes from colloquial Japanese nappa (菜っ葉), which means any edible leaf.)

Napa cabbage is a staple in most East Asian cuisines, and in one of its most well-loved incarnations is the prime ingredient in Korean kim-chee, the spicy fermented cabbage pickle without which Korean cuisine wouldn't exist. We've not found any source that explains how this Asian vegetable made its way to Brazil, but it would be logical that it arrived with the wave of Japanese immigrants to came to Brazil in the early 20th century to work in Brazil's coffee plantations.

Brazilian dictionaries and the Portuguese-language version of Wikipedia define acelga as chard, not Napa cabbage, but we've never seen true chard, which is a member of the beet family not a cabbage, in a Brazilian supermarket or farmers market under any name. Perhaps in Portugal acelga refers to the plant called chard in English, but in Brazil the word is restricted to Napa cabbage.

Brazilians really don't use the Asian cooking technique called stir-frying, and woks don't exist in this country - again, outside Asian communities. Acelga is more often a feature of Brazilian salad recipes, and the thin, light leaves of the plant are very suited to eating raw, unlike some other Asian greens which need to be cooked before eating.

We'll feature some Brazilian recipes for acelga in the next few posts. Under it's various English monikers, this green is easy to find in North American and European supermarkets in larger metropolitan areas, and in Asian groceries in cities that have Asian immigrant communities. Salads made with this green are light, refreshing and nutritious and serving a salad with Napa cabbage can elevate the day-to-day salad to something new and exotic.

VEGETABLES OF BRAZIL - Eggplant (Berinjela)

Brazilians eat a lot of eggplant (Solanum melongena). It's available year-round in markets and supermarkets since most climatic conditions in Brazil are very well suited to cultivation of eggplant. That's really not surprising if you consider the origins of the vegetable - it was first cultived in India in prehistoric times, and temperatures are high almost year round in most of India just like Brazil. It's journey from India to Brazil passes from its native soil to the Middle East via Arab traders, thence on to Spain and Portugal during the period of Moorish occupation, and finally on to Brazil with Portuguese explorers, colonists and immigrants.

The Portuguese word for eggplant, berinjela, comes from a Mughal/Persian word meaning "plant and fruit" that was brought into Arabic and on to Spanish and Portuguese. Interestingly, the Portuguese then carried the word back to India where the current Hindi word for eggplant, brinjal, is a direct derivative of Portuguese berinjela. What goes around comes around.

Brazilian eggplants are normally of the dark-purple rounded variety rather than like those varieties more common in Asia which are a lighter shade of purple, thinner and more elongated. Those available in markets here tend to be smaller than their North American cousins, however. Since the characteristic bitterness of eggplant increases with size, Brazilian eggplants need not be salted and squeezed to eliminate bitter juices and are usually cooked directly.

Although Brazilians in general are enthusiastic carnivores, and vegetarianism in Brazil is barely on the radar, contemporary Brazilian chefs are beginning to use eggplant as the centerpiece of vegetarian main courses. In the many cultures which avail themselves of eggplants, its unique ability to provide a "meatiness" to a vegetarian dish often means that eggplant is the placeholder for meat in a main dish. These chefs are also aware that although eggplant isn't strongly-flavored itself, it absorbs and augments flavors of other vegetables cooked with it, and take advantage of that quality in creation of new dishes.

Flavors of Brazil will feature some traditional and contemporary recipes for eggplant Brazilian-style in the next few posts. Keep tuned.

RECIPE - Spicy Chayote Salad (Salada de Chuchu Picante)

This very-easy and quick-to-prepare salad of baby chayotes (mini chuchus in Portuguese), from the Brazilian website Receitas e Dicas,  can be served warm or at room temperature. It's best not to chill it, as refrigeration diminishes the already-subtle flavor of chayote and will result in a very bland salad experience. The spiciness of the salad can be adjusted up or down by regulating the quantity of garlic and red pepper flakes. In Brazil this salad would be quite spicy but the heat of the peppers shouldn't overwhelm the chayote itself.
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RECIPE - Spicy Chayote Salad (Salada de Chuchu Picante)
Serves 4

3 medium chayotes
1 medium yellow onion, not-too-finely chopped
1 clove garlic, very thinly sliced
1 Tbsp red or white wine vinegar
hot red pepper flakes, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
extra-virgin olive oil
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Peel the chayotes using a vegetable peeler, cut them in half in the wider direction, then using a spoon scoop out the large seed. Cut the chayote flesh into 1/4 in (1 cm) slices.

Bring a large quantity of water to a boil in a large pan. Add the chayote slices and cook until just softened. Do not overcook. Drain into a colander, then refresh in running cold water to stop the cooking process. Drain again, reserve.

In a small sauté pan heat some olive oil, then add the garlic slices. Cook until brown and crispy, adding the desired quantity of red pepper flakes about halfway through the cooking process. Reserve.

In a large frying pan, heat additional oil then add the chopped onion. Cook until transparent but not browned. Add the vinegar and cook briefly. Add the chayote slices, and with a wooden spoon mix them with the dressing carefully, making sure not to break up the slices. Remove from heat, then add the garlic/red pepper/oil mixture from the sauté pan. Stir again, carefully.

Let rest a few minutes if you wish to serve the salad warm, or reserve until cooled to room temperature and then serve.

INGREDIENTS - Chayote (Chuchu)

Of all the edible plant families, the Cucurbitaceae clan has to be one of the most varied and also one of the most ubiquitous. The family name itself probably means nothing to 99.99% of the world's population, but there are very few people wandering the earth who haven't eaten one or another of the family members at some time - a cucumber, a cantaloupe, a watermelon, a pumpkin, a zucchini or a honeydew melon.

One member of this family, scientifically known as Sechium edule, has a long history as an important food crop in Meso-American and South America, but it's only within the past decade or so that it has become an established menu item in North America and Europe - excepting in Cajun cuisine where it's always been an integral part of the culinary larder. In Louisiana they call it a mirliton, but most of the rest of North America calls it by its Mexican name, chayote. In the English-speaking Caribbean, it's a christophene and in India it's a chow chow. In Brazil, where it is a common ingredient in salads, stews and mixed vegetable preparations, it's a chuchu.

Chuchu is almost always available in vegetable markets and supermarkets in Brazil, without a definite season and it's always inexpensive. Yesterday, in Fortaleza, I bought some for R$0.75/ kg or about USD$0.20/lb. It's particularly associated in Brazil with the cooking of the northeastern region, but grows almost anywhere in this warm-weather country and is eaten in just about every region.

Chuchu can be cooked like almost any other summer squash, such as zucchini or patty-pan, and benefits from shorter cooking period. The flavor is somewhat bland, but combines well with other ingredients in soups or stews. Its uses in the kitchen, however, aren't restricted to cooked dishes - chuchu can also be eaten raw, and makes a great addition to a fresh salad. It also takes very well to pickling.

The next posts on Flavors of Brazil will include some typical Brazilian recipes that feature this versatile vegetable.

RECIPE - Leeks with Wild Basil (Alho-poró com Manjericão)

This very simply, but delicious vegetable side dish makes a great accompaniment for grilled chicken or fish. In Brazil, the recipe calls for manjericão, and although manjericão strictly speaking is not the same thing as basil (click here for more information), basil is the best substitute for Europeans and North Americans. If you're lucky enough to live in Hawaii, you can make this dish more authentically Brazilian by using wild basil, which is what manjericão truly is.

Although leeks (alho-poró in Portuguese) are a crop of temperate climates, they are part of Brazil's culinary tradition through the influence of Portuguese cooking. One of the most well-known Portuguese dishes, the hearty soup known as caldo verde, contains leeks, and this soup is as popular in Brazil as it is in Portugal. In the more tropical parts of Brazil, like my Brazilian hometown Fortaleza, leeks are expensive and can only be found in more-specialized greengrocers. Further south, where the climate is more temperate, leeks are cheaper and more readily available.
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RECIPE - Leeks with Wild Basil (Alho-poró com Manjericão)
Serves 4

3 leeks
1 Tbsp. extravirgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup (250 ml) water
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
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Trim the leeks then carefully wash them, separating the leaves to remove sand and grit. Cut them into thin slices (and 1/4 inch, 1 cm). Reserve

In a large frying pan heat 1 Tbsp. of the oil, then fry the crushed garlic cloves until they just begin to brown. Remove the garlic and discard. Add the chopped onion and cook until transparent but not browned.

Add the leeks, plus the one cup of water, and cook over medium-high heat for five minutes, or until the leeks are just softened and tender.

Remove from heat, season with the salt, then stir in the chopped basil. Put into serving dish and serve immediately.

Recipe translated and adapted from BBel UOL

INGREDIENTS - Taioba

One of the typical greens of the mountainous, interior state of Minas Gerais is known in Brazil as taioba. It's used in many different ways, as one might use spinach, though taioba is never served raw. The taioba plant (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) is commonly called "arrowleaf elephant ear" in English although it's also sometimes referred to as tannia, and in Spanish it's known as yautia in Puerto Rico and as tiquizque or macal in Costa Rica and Nicaragua. In the cuisines of these countries, the leaves of the plant are sometimes used, but it's cultivated mostly for its edible tubers.

In Brazil, it's the large green leaves that are consumed, and I've been unable to find any reference to the use of the taioba tuber in Brazilian cooking. It's often simply sauteed with garlic and served as an accompaniment to a meal including meat, beans and rice.

Because the large leaves of the taioba plant have large veins, most recipes call for the stems and veins to be stripped out, leaving on the leafy green part to be used in cooking. As these leafy greens can still be quite large, most commonly the greens are shredded or cut into thin strips before cooking, as is also done in Minas Gerais with kale (couve).

So Why Is It Called Green Corn? (Milho Verde)

The eating corn that those in North America call sweet corn, or even corn-on-the-cob corn, is known in Brazil as milho verde, which translates into English as Green Corn. Granted the husks are green, but when it's cooked and ready to eat there's very little green to be seen - if they called it milho amarelo (yellow corn) I'd understand, but the green corn name stumps me. It also seems to stump all my Brazilians friends whom I've asked about this terminology. Nobody knows why it's milho verde, just that it IS milho verde.

Unlike in certain other parts of the world where eating fresh cord directly from the cob is considered something that only barnyard animals do, Brazilians share North Americans love of corn on the cob. It's considered more of a snack food or street food here than it is in North America, and it's not common to serve it as part of a meal in a home or restaurant. However, anywhere there's a crowd on the street, be it carnaval, a holiday festival, or just a park or seashore, you can be sure that there will be milho verde available from a number of vendors, selling the product from a cart or stall.

Most evenings, after the sun as set and it's a bit cooler, I walk along Fortaleza's seafront promenade, called Beira-Mar. Me and thousands of other people. It's a colorful scene of ordinary strollers, jogging athletes, skatboarders and roller-bladers, hucksters, and vendors of arts, crafts and food and drink. The most common food carts are those that sell acarajé, green coconut water, popcorn, french fries, and milho verde. The going price for a cob of corn is 1 real, which is approximately USD $0.50. Normally it is sold from a large cauldron of simmering water, placed in a clean and cut half-circle of corn husk, salted and butter, and is eaten on the run. Some vendors have a charcoal fire at one side of their cart, and will offer to grill the cob for you if you prefer it that way. A fresh, sweet ear of "milho verde" is satisfying without being too filling. Washed down with an icy beer, it makes the evening stroll just that much more pleasant.

Below are some photos of milho verde vendors and their carts, taken on Fortaleza's Beira-Mar.

Maxixe - A Vegetable and a Dance

At the end of the 19th Century and the beginning of the 20th, a Brazilian dance swept through the ballrooms and salons of the Americas and Europe - it was called the Maxixe (pronounced Ma-SHE-she or Ma-SHEESH). The dance originated in Rio de Janeiro and was created by slaves and former slaves using rhythms that originated in Africa, specifically in the area around the city of Maxixe, Mozambique. These African rhythm patterns were mixed with European dance forms like the polka or two-steps, contributions of Brazil's European immigrants. The maxixe had its 15 minutes of fame on the world stage, and then faded to a footnote in the annals of social dance.

It turns out, however, that the blacks of Brazil didn't bring only dance rhythms with them from Mozambique when they were transported to Brazil in the belly of slave ships. They also carried seeds of a small, spiny member of the cucumber family (Cucurbitaceae), which they also called maxixe. They introduced this vegetable to the cuisine of Northeastern Brazil, where the plant flourished, and where it is a very popular vegetable to this day, even as it remains almost unknown in the center and south of the country.

Unlike cucumbers themselves, maxixe must be cooked to enjoy, although it is at its best when it is not overcooked. Like cucumbers they make delicious pickles. The flavor of maxixe is like a cross between cucumber and zucchini (another member of the same family) and it is often cooked simply by sauteing with fresh tomatoes, onion and garlic in the style of ratatouille.

Maxixe is often combined with another African gift to Brazilian cuisine, okra (quiabo), and the two vegetables often show up in the same stews or vegetable casseroles. It combines successfully in stews with chicken, beef, carne do sol, and shrimps, both fresh and dried.

Maxixe also travelled with African slaves to the Caribbean where it is still cultivated and is known as "Burr Gherkin."  For avid or curious home vegetable gardeners, seeds for maxixe are available by mail order from the D. Landreth Seed Company under the name "West India Burr Gherkin" - click here for a link to the order page. An alternative source of maxixe seeds is Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, where it is listed as West India Burr Cucumber Gherkins under the cucumber category. Link is here.

In the following post, I'll provide a recipe for a simple chicken and maxixe dish that can also be successfully adapted for zucchini should you neighborhood Safeway be fresh out of maxixe.

RECIPE - Kale Mineira

This dish, known as "couve mineira" in Brazil, is one of Minas Gerais' most well-loved culinary exports to the rest of Brazil. A simple side-dish, it has become an essential component of feijoada, which is originally from Rio de Janeiro, but is considered Brazil's national dish.

The kale used in Brazil is flat-leafed, unlike the curly kale normally found in North American markets. However, this dish can very successfully be made with curly-leafed kale, or even with collard greens or escarole. Any green that provides the required bitterness would be a successful substitute.

Click on "read more..." below for the recipe

RECIPE - Caruru

Caruru, made with okra, dried shrimps, dendê oil, and ground cashews is a staple of Bahian cuisine. The cooking of Bahia derives many of its dishes from the African tradition, and caruru, or very similar dishes, can be found in West Africa, the Caribbean and the Southern US.

Caruru is a ritual food of the Candomblé religion, and is used as filling in the typical Bahian street-food acarajé. It also makes a delicious and substantial side-dish to any Bahian meal.

Click on "read more" for the recipe...

Embracing the slime - the Brazilian way with okra

There is a reason why the lovely butter-yellow okra flower at the right looks like a hibiscus. Okra and hibiscus are both members of the  botanical family Malvaceae, as are cotton ,cacao and the dreadful-smelling durian.

Okra (Portuguese: quiabo) is one of those love-it-or-hate-it foods about which few people are neutral. For those in the hate-it camp, the problem is often more about texture than taste. Okra exudes a mucilaginous substance, which gives many okra dishes a more-or-less slippery or slimy texture. Most North American okra recipes go to great lengths to try to reduce or eliminate the texture, often by preliminarily stir-frying the okra, or by the addition of slightly acidic ingredients, like citrus or tomatoes.

Okra is extremely popular in Brazil, as it grows well in Brazil's tropical climate. It was first brought there from West Africa by slaves imported to work in the sugar cane plantations and mines of colonial Brazil. Many familiar Brazilian dishes containing okra come from the African tradition. Some are used as traditional offerings to the orixas, or gods, in the rituals of the Afro-Brazilian religion, Candomblé. Some of these dishes, including perhaps the most well-known, caruru, enhance rather than try to eliminate the slippery, or slimy, texture. If okra itself is a love-it-or-hate-it proposition, Brazil's traditional okra dishes are even more so.

I love caruru and other okra dishes, and seem to have evolved beyond my earlier aversion to its texture. A recipe for caruru can be found in this post.