RECIPE - Stewed Beef with Cachaça (Carne na Cachaça)

This Brazilian take on the French classic dish boeuf bourguignon retains traditional French touches like pearl onions but makes a bold leap by substituting Brazilian cachaça for the hearty red wine called for in the original. This switch takes the dish from the vineyards of Burgundy to the sugar-cane plantations of tropical Brazil, and it changes the character of this dish completely but interestingly - adding smoky notes that aren't present in the original dish.

Stewed beef with cachaça is a good example of the way in which Brazilian chefs are opening up their minds to the potentials of cachaça as a recipe ingredient. (Click here to read more about this trend). Reinterpreting classics, creating entirely new dishes, all with the distinctive taste of cachaça - just part of how Brazilian gastronomy has shifted its focus from its former slavish imitation of classic French or Italian cuisine. Now native Brazilian ingredients and techniques are front and center as Brazilian food steps into the world's gastronomic spotlight.

This dish is total comfort food and not difficult to make. It's especially suited to cold or damp evenings, especially when accompanied by mashed potatoes, as suggested in the recipe. Cachaça is increasingly easy to find in North American and European liquor shops, so there should be a problem sourcing all the ingredients. As an added bonus, you'll have plenty of cachaça left over, so you have all you need to make your own caipirinhas!
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RECIPE - Stewed Beef with Cachaça (Carne na Cachaça)
Serves 6

2 Tbsp neutral vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 lbs (1 kg) stewing beef (chuck or similar), cut into large cubes
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cachaça
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups pearl onions, peeled
finely chopped parsley to garnish
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Heat the oil in a large, heavy pan, then brown the meat on all sides, in batches if necessary to prevent crowding. Remove the browned meat from the pan and reserve. Add a bit more oil if needed, then saute the onion and garlic in the same pan just until they begin to brown. 

Return the meat and any accumulated juices to the pan along with the water, the cachaça and the tomato paste. Mix thoroughly to dissolve the tomato paste, then add salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to the boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pan. Cook at low heat for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is fork tender.

Add the peeled onions and cook for an additional 10 minutes or so, or until the onions can be easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife.

Put the stew into a decorative serving bowl, sprinkle over chopped parsley and serve with mashed or boiled potatoes.

Cooking with Cachaça - A Few Inventive Recipes

There's more to Brazil's national liquor cachaça than hard-core shots and tropical caipirinhas. At least according to some innovative restaurants in Rio de Janeiro there is. Rather than only offering cachaça as a cocktail or digestive, chefs in Brazil's capital of tourism are taking another look at it - wondering how it might be properly used in the creation of new recipes.

Cachaça-seasoned fresh ham at Bar Bracarense

A recent article in Rio's major newspaper, O Globo, highlighted some of the inventive ways chefs are putting cachaça to use. A restaurant called Bar Bracarense, located in the tony Leblon neighborhood, offers the most spectacular cachaça-infused dish in Rio. Bar Bracarence uses aged cachaça to season a whole fresh ham, adding the smoky flavors that result from barrel-aging cachaça to the huge joint of meat. The ham is only made to order as it weighs 8 kgs (almost 20 lbs) and serves 10-15 diners. But it has proved a hit with regular patrons of the restaurant, which charges R$300 (approx. USD $150) to prepare it.

A Quinta da Boa Vista, another long-established Rio restaurant, takes advantage of the way cachaça combines with tropical fruits in a dish called Camarão Dom Pedro, named in homage to Brazil's first emperor. The dish consists of cachaça-marinated shrimps, sauteed and served in a half pineapple, served with rice accented with raisins. An Italian restaurant in Rio, Spaghetteria, adds a cachaça twist to the Italian classic Spaghetti Arrabiata by topping the pasta with two or three sauteed fresh sardines that have been flamed in cachaça .

It's not just in main courses, though, where cachaça is being put to good use in Rio these days. At Aconchego Carioca, a typical boteco-style bar, diners can choose a cachaça flavored tapioca pudding to end their meal, and at Mangue Seco they flambee bananas in cachaça then serve them hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

As cachaça makes its move from behind the bar to kitchen shelves in restaurants not just in Rio de Janeiro but around Brazil, this list of recipes with cachaça will continue to grow. It's all part of the ongoing evolution of cachaça , just as is the current boom in aged, artisanally produced cachaça , which are rapidly becoming the drink of choice of sophisticated Brazilian connaisseurs.

RECIPE - Cupuaçu "Hot Chocolate" (Leite Queimado com Cupuaçu)

Creative Brazilian chefs, paying attention to the botanical relationship between cacau (the source of chocolate) and cupuaçu, an Amazonian fruit that is a close relative of cacau, are beginning to explore the possibilities of substituting cupuaçu for chocolate in recipes - seeing when and where this substitution might result in an interesting "it's-chocolate-but-it's-not" moment.

In a recent series of articles in the Estado de S. Paulo newspaper on the culinary uses of cupuaçu seeds, Brazilian food writer and blogger Neide Rigo posted some reinterpretations of standard chocolate recipes, substituting cupuaçu. Things like a mole-style sauce for chicken, a mousse, and a chip-laden cookie, all of which replace chocolate with cupuaçu.

She also recreates hot chocolate with cupuaçu seeds, and the result is a creamy, sweet drink that's perfect on a damp or chilly day. (Incidentally, contrary to what many people believe, there are damp and chilly days in Brazil - either in the far south, or in high-altitude locations elsewhere in the country.)
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RECIPE - Cupuaçu "Hot Chocolate" (Leite Queimado com Cupuaçu)
makes one drink

10 cupuaçu seeds
1 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp sugar
1 clove
small piece of cinnamon stick
small piece of lime zest - green part only
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In a blender combine the cupuaçu seeds and the milk, and process completely. In a saucepan, caramelize the sugar (click here to read about caramelizing sugar). Add the mixture from the blender, the clove, the cinnamon and the lime zest to the caramelized sugar, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Bring rapidly to the boil, then remove from the heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes for the flavors to blend.

Pour the liquid through a sieve into another small saucepan, and heat to just below the boiling point. Serve immediately.

Developing the Cupuaçu's Full Potential

cupuaçu fruit

Although it's as yet virtually unknown outside Brazil, chocolate's close relative, the cupuaçu, has always been loved in Brazil. People there line up in ice cream parlors to get a double scoop of cupuaçu ice cream. And when Brazilians want a rich, creamy drink they often go for a glass of freshly-prepared cupuaçu juice. Mousses, puddings and cream fillings of all sorts are often flavored with the richly aromatic fruit.

What is interesting about the two closely related foods, chocolate and cupuaçu, is that up til now, each of the two fruits has been exploited entirely differently, their biological relationship notwithstanding. Chocolate is derived from the fermented and dried seeds of the cacau fruit, but when it comes to cupuaçu it's the succulent pulp which is eaten. A look inside these two botanical cousins gives an indication why this might be so - there is little pulp and a large number of seeds inside the cacau fruit but inside the cupuaçu the portions are reversed, with plenty of creamy pulp and a smaller number of seeds.

Recently, however, there have been some very interesting developments in the exploitation of cupuaçu. Food scientists, creative chefs and food-security activists in Brazil are taking a second look at the cupuaçu. They're moving beyond the pulp and concentrating on the seeds. The thought is that since the world has long been addicted to chocolate in all its variety, it might be worthwhile seeing what the gastronomic potential is of the seeds of the cupuaçu. Perhaps it could come to stand alongside chocolate as one of the most commercially valuable members of the Theobroma genus. Theobroma does mean "food of the gods" in Greek, and maybe it's time to add cupuaçu to the pantheon as well.

fermented cupuaçu seeds

Fresh from the pod, neither the seeds of cupuaçu nor cacau are edible - it's only after fermentation and drying that the seeds can be used in the kitchen. The chemical changes involved in this process are a gastronomic transformation that is the culinary equivalent of making a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Horticulturists and nutritionists are now looking at cupuaçu with a new eye. The potential for gastronomic use of the seed far exceeds the market for pulp. Chefs in Brazil are already creating recipes that exploit the best characteristics of the seeds, NGOs are helping farmers in the rain forest develop sustainable cupuaçu agriculture, and media campaigns are already underway to educate the public about cupuaçu seeds.

On Wednesday, we'll feature recipes from the Brazilian press which focus on this unique fruit and it's entirely new use.

RECIPE - Orange Cake (Bolo de Laranja)

The Brazilian repertory of cake recipes is large and there's no question that Brazilians have a serious ongoing love affair with, as the dictionary defines it, "a sweet, baked, breadlike food, made with or without shortening, and usually containing flour, sugar, baking powder or soda, eggs, and liquid flavoring. " Brazilians eat cake for breakfast - some people every day; others only on special occasions or when breakfasting at a hotel or resort . They eat cake as a sweet pick-me-up at various times during the day. They also eat it as dessert, though less frequently then.

What distinguishes the majority of Brazilian cakes from those found in North America or Europe is that Brazilian cakes are generally not frosted (with the notable exception of party cakes such as birthday cake). There's something about the texture and sweetness of frosting that really doesn't suit Brazil's hot climate. Even if the frosting doesn't melt, it really doesn't appeal.

Instead of frosting a cake, Brazilian cooks often prefer to make a fruit-based syrup and then, when the cake is fresh out of the oven, pour that syrup over the cake. The syrup soaks into the cake and infuses it with the heady flavor and aroma of fresh fruit, turning what is basically sweet bread into something marvelous. Brazilians employ this technique using a variety of fruits and are especially fond of using acidic fruits, like citrus fruits and passion fruit, as the base for the syrup. The acidity in the syrup balances its sweetness and prevents the syrup from cloying.

This recipe is for orange cake, one of the most popular of the fruit-syrup cakes in Brazil. It's perfect served with tea or coffee mid-morning or mid-afternoon, and makes a great dessert topped with a dollop of whipped cream or a ball of best-quality vanilla ice cream. The recipe is from Brazilian food website Panelinha, translated and adapted by Flavors of Brazil.
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RECIPE - Orange Cake (Bolo de Laranja)

For the cake:
2 medium oranges
1 cup neutral vegetable oil (canola preferred)
2 whole eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated white sugar
2 tsp baking powder

For the syrup:
juice of one large orange
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
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Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Generously grease a rectangular, tube or Bundt cake pan with unsalted butter, then dust with flour.

With a paring knife, peel the oranges, then cut the segments open and cut out the flesh. Discard the peel and the papery covering of the segments. Put the orange segments in a blender along with the oil and the two eggs and blend until you have a completely homogenous mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, the sugar and the baking powder. Add the liquid from the blender slowly, stirring in with a wooden or plastic spoon, making sure to break up any lumps. When all the liquid is added, continue stirring until the mixture is homogenous.

Pour the batter from the mixing bowl into the prepared cake pan, and carefully place in the middle of the preheated oven. Cook for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and place it, still in the pan, for about 30 minutes to cool.

Meanwhile, make the syrup. Combine the orange juice and sugar in a small pan, heat over high heat, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar completely. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and reserve.

When the cake is cooled, turn it out, reversing it, onto a platter with a raised edge. Using a fork, pierce the surface in many places to aid in the absorption of the syrup. Slowly pour the syrup over the cake, letting it soak in as you pour. Don't let the syrup pool on the platter.

Serve the cake immediately, or let stand, covered for up to 24 hours, prior to serving.

RECIPE - Homemade Linguiça (Linguiça Caseira)

Making sausage at home, any type of sausage, appears at first to be a daunting task. Particularly the whole business of getting that mixture of ground meat, fat and spices into those tubes of (horrors!) cleaned-out intestines. The machines needed to do this work look positively infernal, and the sight of a rapidly filling sausage casing isn't for the weak of stomach.

However, the results can be very good indeed, and well worth all the fuss and bother, much better (and much healthier) than commercially made sausage. And if the idea of filling all those lengths of sausage casing seems to be too much work, the product can be formed into patties, like hamburgers are, which gives you all the taste without much work at all.

Brazilian linguiça is a style of sausage that's quite straightforward, and the recipe below will give you the authentic taste of Brazil's most popular family of links. If you want to form the sausages with using either natural or artificial sausage casings, there are many sources on the internet to help you with that process. Some good ones can be found here and here . The recipe is for the filling only - remember, you can always take the lazy way out and fry or grill patties. They'll still be delicious.
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RECIPE - Homemade Linguiça (Linguiça Caseira)
10 portions

5 lbs (2.5 kgs) ground meat - not too lean; beef, pork, lamb, or a mixture of beef and pork
3 Tbsp salt 
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 - 2 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste (optional)
1/4 cup
2 Tbsp finely chopped Italian parsley
2 Tbsp finely chopped green onion, green part only

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients. Using your hands, knead and mix the ingredients together until you have a firm and totally homogenous mass. Form the mixture into the shape of a ball, then turn out into a clean bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic film and refrigerate the sausage mixture for at least 24 hours for the flavors to blend.

The next day, remove from the refrigerator at least one hour prior to beginning the process of stuffing sausage casings. If forming patties, the mixture can be used straight from the refrigerator.

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

RECIPE - Roast Linguiça (Linguiça assada)

This super-easy-to-make dish of linguiça sausages, roasted with tomato halves and rings of red, yellow and green peppers and seasoned with fresh rosemary, makes a wonderful homestyle supper for family or for a casual dinner with friends. All that is needed to accompany this substantial dish is a loaf of crusty French or Italian bread to sop up the juices, a simple green salad to refresh the palate, and a hearty bottle of red wine to refresh the soul.

In Brazil, this recipe is made with linguiça sausages, usually either linguiça calabresa or linguiça toscana. You can make the recipe with any good quality fresh, uncooked sausages - preferrably artisanally made. If you wish to make a less fatty version, before you begin the recipe prick the sausages all over with a fork, then pop into boiling water for about 4-5 minutes. Then drain, rinse and proceed as below.
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RECIPE - Roast Linguiça (Linguiça assada) 
Serves 4

1 1/2 lb (600 gr) good quality fresh sausages, linguiça or similar
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb (500 gr) small ripe tomatoes, halved and seeded, but unpeeled
1 small green bell pepper
1 small red bell pepper
1 small yellow bell pepper
2 large onions
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
a few sprigs fresh rosemary
salt and black pepper to taste
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Preheat the oven to 375F (200C).

Heat a medium frying pan, add the oil then the sausages. Brown them on all sides, turning them frequently.

While the sausages are browning, seed the peppers and cut them into rings. Cut the onions into thick rings.

Arrange the pepper and onion rings, plus the tomato halves, cut side down in a glass or ceramic baking dish. Sprinkle the optional balsamic vinegar over, if desired. When the sausages are browned, place them atop the vegetables in the dish. Add the rosemary sprigs. Cover the dish with aluminum foil, then place in the preheated oven.

Cook for about 30 minutes, then remove from oven and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, in the baking dish.