RECIPE - Shrimp Bobo (Bobó de Camarão)

This classic dish from the state of Bahia is one of the cornerstones of the Afro-Bahian tradition of cooking that is so strongly linked to the state and to its capital, Salvador. It contains most of the fundamental ingredients in the Bahian cook's larder - manioc, coconut milk (lots of it!), dendê palm oil and the sweet fresh shrimps for which Brazil's north-east coast is so famous.

A bobó is a manioc cream or puree, which can be served unadorned or finished with shrimp or other protein.  Depending on the recipe and on the cook the puree can be as thin as a soup or something more substantial. The word bobó comes to Brazil from the language of the Ewe people who inhabited current-day Ghana, Togo and Benin and who were brought to Brazil as slaves in large numbers during the era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In their language, bobó means "a dish made with beans." Today, there are no beans in bobó, at least in Brazil. Instead the cream is made with manioc, a native South American staple and one to which Afro-Brazilian slaves took enthusiastically when they were introduced to it in the New World.

For anyone who has any culinary curiousity or interest in Brazilian cooking and eating traditions, going to Salvador or anywhere else in Bahia and not trying bobó de camarão at least once would be nearly as great a gastronomic sin as not trying acarajé while visiting Bahia. (Nearly as great, but not quite). Fortunately, bobó de camarão is easy to find in restaurants that feature local dishes and is a staple dish on buffet tables in Bahian self-serve restaurants. It's also quite easy to make, and can be a great centerpiece for a casual dinner for a small group.  This recipe serves 8 well. White rice is an obligatory side dish, and if you add a green salad you have a complete meal.

The only ingredient that can be difficult to source outside Brazil (and which is absolutely necessary in a bobó) is the shockingly-brilliant orange palm oil called dendê. In North America and Europe it can be ordered online, or usually can be sourced in Latin American and African food markets. If the product is destined to the African trade, it might just be labelled "palm oil" - if it's orange and solid or semi-solid at room temperature, then it the right stuff. Manioc is available in the same markets, though it may be labelled cassava root, or yuca depending on the ethnic variety of the market.
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RECIPE - Shrimp Bobo (Bobó de Camarão)
Serves 8

For the manioc cream:
2 lbs (1 kg) cooking onions, peeled and chopped
2 lbs (1 kg) firm, ripe tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 green bell peppers, seeded and chopped
4 Tbsp finely cilantro, finely chopped
2 lbs (1 kgs) manioc/cassava/yuca root, peeled, boiled and mashed
2 cups (500 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (1 liter) coconut milk

For the shrimp:
4 lbs (4 kgs) medium or large shrimp, peeled, deheaded and deveined, with tails left on
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp salt
2 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
3 medium tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 medium onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (1 liter)coconut milk
2 Tbsp dendê oil
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 Prepare the manioc cream:  In a large heavy saucepan, combine the onion, tomatoes, green pepper and cilantro with the mashed manioc. Stir in the olive oil and coconut milk, then heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring constantly, or until the cream begins to pull away from the bottom of the pan when you stir. Remove from the heat and reserve.

Prepare the shrimp: Rinse the shrimp well in plenty of cold running water. Drain. In a large, deep saucepan combine the drained shrimp, chopped garlic, salt, cilantro, tomatoes, onions, green pepper and the olive oil. Heat over medium high heat, stirring frequently. When hot, add the coconut milk in 1/2 cup amounts, stirring after each addition to completely mix. Continue to cook for 5 minutes more, stirring constantly.

Add the reserved manioc puree to the shrimps and continue to cook for 5 more minutes, stirring frequently. Just before removing from the heat, add the dendê oil and mix it in completely. Remove from heat, pour into a decorative deep serving platter, sprinkle with additional cilantro if desired and serve immediately.

Feliz Sete de Setembro (Happy Seventh of September)

Today is Brazil's national holiday, called simply, like the Fourth of July in the USA, the Seventh of September. Although both the American national holiday and the Brazilian one are officially called Independence Day (Dia da Independência), in popular usage they are referred to more commonly by the calendar date.

Today's celebrations throughout Brazil commemorate the events of September 7, 1822, when the Portuguese Prince-Regent Dom Pedro II shouted out "Independência ou Morte!" to his troops assembled along the banks of the Ipiranga river in the province of São Paulo and thus initiated the rebellion that resulted in Portugal relinquishing control of its most important colony in 1823.

The day is marked in cities in town in Brazil with military-themed parades and with Brazilians thronging the country's beaches, lakes and parks. As we type this post here at Flavors of Brazil, we can hear the sounds of military bands parading in the distance, and occasionally the roar of military acrobatic jets entertaining the crowds along Fortaleza's seafront parade route.

Readers of the blog outside Brazil - if you have Brazilian acquaintances or friends living in your country, give them a call today to celebrate the day - all you need to say is "Feliz Sete de Setembro" - pronounced "Fay-leeze Seh-tche Gee Seh-tem-broo". They're very likely to be impressed both with the fact that you know today is a special day and that you speak such excellent Portuguese.

For readers of the blog here in Brazil, we say - Tudo de bom para o feriado. Aproveitem!

RECIPE - Hellmann's Savory Blender Cake (Bolo Salgado do Liquidificator)

Don't try this at home!

Sorry, but we couldn't resist posting this recipe which we came across when searching the Internet for Brazilian recipes that call for mayonnaise. Yesterday's post about the Brazilian expression "travelling in mayonnaise" got us thinking about mayonnaise in Brazil and how it's used, which in turn led us to this truly awful-sounding recipe.

The recipe come from Hellmann's Brazilian website. Brazil does have Hellmann's mayonnaise just like most of the rest of the world, and it is one of the better brands, so Flavors of Brazil really isn't slagging Hellmann's product so much as their ideas for how to use it. Even the name they've chosen is really unappetizing either in English or in Portuguese, where it literally means "salty cake of the blender". The recipe doesn't have much Brazilian about it except for the fact that it includes ground Brazil nuts (castanha-do-pará). Do you imagine some Betty Crocker-type in Hellmann's research kitchen said "Let's thrown in some Brazil nuts. That'll make it Brazilian!"? Nor does the recipe include mayonnaise - but I guess when you search Google for mayonnaise recipes, they'll toss anything with the word Hellmann's your way. For Google, just like for us, Hellmann's is just a synonym for mayonnaise.

Who knows, this cake might actually be delicious. We don't know, and we're not going to spend time and money to find out. On the off chance that any of Flavors of Brazil's readers actually make the recipe, please do let us know how it turned out. We'd like to be proven wrong.
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RECIPE - Hellmann's Savory Blender Cake (Bolo Salgado do Liquidificator)

Filling:
1 Tbsp neutral vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb (500 gr) smoked turkey breat, deli-style, cut into cubes
1 Tbsp cilantro, finely chopped

Batter:
1 cup whole milk
1 cup neutral vegetable oil
2 whole eggs
1/2 cup ketchup (Hellmann's, of course)
1 tsp salt
1cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup ground Brazil nuts
1 Tbsp baking powder
Additional vegetable oil for greasing the cake pan
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Prepare the filling:  In a medium pan, heat the vegetable oil, then fry the chopped onion until it just begins to brown. Add the cubed smoked turkey and let cook for 5 minutes on low heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add the chopped cilantro, and let cool completely. Reserve.

Prepare the batter: Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Grease a rectangular cake pan (8x12 inches, 19x31 cm) and reserve.

In a blender, combine the milk, the oil, the eggs, the ketchup and the salt. Blend at high speed for one minute. Add the whole-wheat flour and the ground Brazil nuts, then blend at medium speed for three minutes. Add the baking powder and blend at low speed for one minute.

Pour half of the batter into the bottom of the pre-greased cake pan. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the surface, then carefully pour the rest of the batter over the filling. Place on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool.

When only warm, cut into squares, remove from the pan and serve.

Note: This cake can also be made into muffins, using a muffin tin and adjusting cooking time.

Brazilian Gastronomic Expressions Pt. 3 - Viajar na Maionese

So what's would it be like to "travel in mayonnaise"? Flavors of Brazil isn't sure, but we have a feeling that it wouldn't be very easy, nor would one be able to see very much, thanks to that thick, oily emulsion of eggs and oil. Sludging though a landscape of mayonnaise would be like trying to make one's way through a wet, slick swamp, though granted that the smell and taste of mayonnaise is significantly more pleasant than that of swamp mud.

To say someone is travelling in mayonnaise is a common accusation in Brazil. In Portuguese the phrase is viajar na maionese. For example, "Oh, that Francisco, he's just travelling in maionese when says that his new car can go from zero to sixty in twenty seconds. It's only a second-hand Honda Civic, after all". To "travel in mayonnaise" means to  be naïve, unaware of reality or deranged in holding an overly-optimistic belief. Probably the closest English-language expression is "living in LaLa land." Another English expression that also translates the Brazilian idiom  is "living in cloud cuckoo land" which comes originally from the ancients Greeks and can be found in Aristophenes' play The Birds.

Although the expression is most commonly heard in Brazil as "travelling" in mayonnaise, there are other variants with the same meaning. You could accuse someone of swimming in mayonnaise (nadar na maionese) or even skating in it patinar na maionese. The action changes but the meaning doesn't.

We are at Flavors of Brazil are big fans of mayonnaise, as are most Brazilians, who love to put it on french fries, in sandwiches and hot hamburgers, and who's favorite salads employ a mayonnaise-based dressing. So, taking the name of the classic sauce to describe someone who's out of touch with reality seems somewhat unfair. If the expression requires a thick, opaque glutinous substance to make sense, we suggest that the expression be changed to viajar na arroz doce or "travelling in rice pudding." That way mayonnaise lovers needn't be unnecessarily offended.

RECIPE - Kosher Clove and Cinnamon Cake (Bolo Cravo e Canela)

This recipe for a marvelously-delicious orange cake, spiced with clove and cinnamon, comes to Flavors of Brazil from Koshermap Brasil, a São Paulo blog-guide to all things kosher (kasher in Portuguese). São Paulo is home to the largest Jewish community in Brazil and the second largest such community in South America, yielding in size only to Buenos Aires. Brazil has been the destination of choice for many Jewish immigrants throughout the centuries. The oldest synagogue in the Americas, Sinagoga Kahal Zur Israel, is located in Recife, Brazil, and was founded during the Dutch occupation of that city between 1630-1657.

The recipe clearly derives from northern European spice cakes, and it probably came to Brazil in the memory of immigrants. Although the earlist Jewish settlers in Brazil were Sephardic, principally from Portugal, the present-day Jewish community in Brazil is mostly Ashkenazi of Polish and German descent. This cake would taste familiar to Jewish families of similar descent almost anywhere in the world.

The blog specifies that this cake is traditionally made to celebrate the Jewish holiday Shavuot. However, it's a perfect coffee-break, afternoon-tea-party cake anytime of the year.

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RECIPE - Kosher Clove and Cinnamon Cake (Bolo Cravo e Canela)

5 large free-range eggs, separated
2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp ground cloves
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
2 oranges, squeezed
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup neutral vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose or cake flour
grated orange peel (optional)
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Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Generously grease a cake pan (tube or bundt pan preferred) and dust with flour.

Using a manual or electric cake mixer, beat the eggs whites and sugar together in a glass or copper bowl until the whites form soft peaks. With the mixer at lowest speed, add first the egg yolks, one at a time, then the cloves and cinnamon, the orange juice, the baking powder, the oil and finally the flour, a bit at a time.

When completely mixed, pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpic inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack. When completely cool, unmold the cake. If desired, sprinkle a bit of the grated orange peel on top to decorate before serving.

RECIPE - Filet Mignon with Clove-scented Sauce (Filé Mignon ao Molho de Cravo-da-Índia)

Untangling the differences, both in cuts and language, between the way a Brazilian butcher disassembles a beef carcass and the way an American or European butcher would deal with an indentical carcass has become a familiar topic here on Flavors of Brazil. The animal's muscles are not cut the same way in Brazil as they are elsewhere, resulting in cuts of meat in one country that can't be found in another. The traditional names used to describe the cuts are also contradictory and confusing.

No confusion though when it comes to a cut a beef called the filet mignon. It's cut identically in Brazil, Europe and North America - from the center section of the tenderloin - and with very small variations in spelling, it's universally called filet mignon, a French word meaning dainty filet. In Brazil, it's spelled filé mignon.

One of the most expensive cuts of beef, or as Brazilians say, one of the "noble cuts", filet mignon is tender and lean, and since it's usually cut into quite thick slices, normally served rare and juicy. It's a symbol of luxury everywhere it is served.

Filet mignon can be served simply, with no seasoning other than salt. Grilled or pan-fried. However, since the cut is lean, it takes well to saucing, something that cuts with a higher percentage of fat do not. Bearnaise sauce, green peppercorn sauce and other treatments are classic ways to serve a filet mignon.

One interesting Brazilian saucing technique for filet mignon seems to be restricted to Brazil alone. At least,Flavors of Brazil has not been able to track down similar recipes from other countries. The sauce is known in Brazil as molho de cravo-da-Índia, meaning clove sauce. In yesterday's post on this blog we detailed the importance of cloves in Brazilian cuisine, and this recipe for an elegant cut of beef topped with a red-wine and clove sauce is a perfect example of how the highly aromatic spice is creatively used in non-dessert cooking in Brazil.
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RECIPE - Filet Mignon with Clove-scented Sauce (Filé Mignon ao Molho de Cravo-da-Índia)
Serves 4

4 filet mignon steaks, about 6 oz (200 gr) each
salt and black pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 cup (125 ml) dry red wine
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp ground cloves

In a deep plate, combine the filets, the minced garlic salt and pepper to taste and half of the red wine. Turn the filets over several times in the wineand then let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, turning the filets over once or twice more.

In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the corn starch in the the remaining red wine. Stir in the ground cloves. Reserve. 

Remove the filets from the marinade and dry them with a paper towel. Reserve the marinade.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. When hot, add the filets and cook to the desired point of doneness - turning the steaks over once, about half-way through the cooking process. Remove the steaks from the pan and reserve, keeping warm.

Pour the reserved marinade and the corstarch/red wine mixture into the frying pan and bring quickly to a boil, stirring constantly and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the frying pan. When the sauce thickens, lower heat and continue to cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce has lost it's starchy taste and is transparent. Remove from heat.

Place one filet on each of four dinner plates, and pour one quarter of the sauce over each. Serve immediately. Best accompanied by one or two steamed vegetables, or with french fries, if desired.


Recipe translated and adapted from Cozinha Regional Brazileira by Abril Editora.

INGREDIENTS - Cloves (Cravo-da-Índia)

The aromatic dried flower bud of the Syzygium aromaticum  tree has been a treasured spice for millennia - in Western civilization dating at least as far back as the ancient Greeks and Romans. Because these hard brown buds resemble a carpenter's nail, the Romans called the spice clavus, meaning nail in Latin. From this Latin root come both the present-day English name, clove, and the Portuguese name cravo.

The spice is native only to the Molucca Islands in Indonesia, the original Spice Islands, though it is now cultivated in other tropical lands. In ancient times cloves were transported to the Mediterranean at great expense and sold there at enormous profit by Arab and Indian middle-men, and until the early 1500s they enjoyed a monopoly on the clove trade. Because of this association with India, the Portuguese refer to the clove as cravo-da-Índia. In 1497 Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama became the first European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope and on to India, thus destroying the Indian/Arab monopoly on the spice trade and establishing the basis for Portuguese colonization of ports in India, Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as Brazil tangentially. Portugal became extravagantly wealthy as a result of its trade with Asia, and a great portion of that wealth was due to spices.


Because of Portugal's long connection to the spice trade, these spices - in particular cinnamon and cloves - became important ingredients in Portuguese cuisine and subsequently in Brazilian cooking. Naturally the spices were used to flavor sweets and pastries, but they also had important roles in savory cooking as well, in dishes such as soups and stews.

For Brazilians, cloves and other spices add an exotic and sensual note to the dishes they are employed in. They add mystery and luxury to food and have become symbols of the sensual aspects of Brazilian cuisine. Author Jorge Amado, perhaps Brazil's most famous 20th Century novelist, is noted for the way he was able to convey the particular sensuousness of Brazil's racially-mixed culture, and he was well aware of how spices contributed to this. One of his best-known novels, which was made into a sensationally popular Brazilian TV serial as well as an international film starring Sonia Braga and Marcello Mastroianni, is called Gabriela, Cravo e Canela in reference to the titular character's "spiciness". The book has been translated into English as Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon.

In upcoming posts, Flavors of Brazil will highlight the use of cloves in Brazilian cuisine, and we'll share some typical Brazilian recipes that call for this exotic and aromatic spice.