RECIPE - Chicken Risotto (Risoto de Frango) REPOST

(Please click here to read about this series of reposts of original posts from May 24, 2010 to June 12, 2010)

In the last few posts, I've been talking about the European-influenced cuisines of Brazil's southern states. Unlike the population of more tropical regions in the center and north of the country, the bulk of the population of Brazil's south can trace its ancestry back to Europe, usually by way of immigrants to Brazil in the 19th and early 20th Century.

Yesterday, I posted a recipe from the state of Santa Catarina, which has a large German immigrant community. There are also German communities in the state of Paraná, which borders Santa Catarina on the north, but in Paraná the primary ethnic and cultural groups are descendants of immigrants from Portugal and especially from Italy. The capital, Curitiba, has a large and vibrant Italian community, as do the cities of Colombo and Santa Felicidade.

Just as Flavor of Brazil's recipe for chucrute was an evolution, not a copy, of German sauerkraut, this recipe from Paraná - delicious and different chicken risotto - is a Brazilian adaptation of an Italian original. Particularly interesting is the use of chicken gizzards as the primary protein for the dish. This recipe serves a large group, which makes the dish particularly appropriate for a feast or dinner for family or friends.
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RECIPE - Chicken Risotto (Risoto de Frango)
Serves 10

For the broth:
5 quarts water (5 litres)
1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs. (2 kgs.), chopped into 8 to 10 pieces
1 whole tomato
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 celery stick
2 or 3 whole fresh sage leaves

For the risotto:
1 lb. (500 gr.) chicken gizzards, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
6 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
salt to taste
3 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup Italian parsley, chopped
additional grated parmesan cheese, to taste
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Make the broth: In a large deep pan or stockpot, combine the water and all ingredients. Heat over medium-high heat, and when the water begins to boil, reduce the heat and let simmer for 50 minutes, loosely covered. Remove from heat, and let cool. When cool, remove chicken, discard skin and all bones, and then shred the meat. Reserve. Pass the broth through a sieve lined with several layers of cheesecloth, Reserve.

Make the risotto: Season the gizzards with salt, then fry them with the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan. Add the onions and continue to saute until the onions become lightly browned. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce and stir. Add 2 cups of the reserved chicken broth and cook over medium-low heat for 40 minutes, or until the gizzards are soft. Meanwhile, bring the remaining broth to a simmer in another pot.

When gizzards are cooked, add the rice to the pan, stir and bring the mixture to the boil over medium-high heat. As it begins to dry out, add more broth by the cupful, allowing each to be absorbed before adding another. When the rice is almost cooked, stir in the reserved shredded chicken. Continue adding broth until all the broth is absorbed, or until the rice is tender. At this point, remove the risotto from the heat, stir in the 1/2 cup parmesan and the parsley and mix lightly. Correct the seasoning. Put into a serving dish, sprinkle additional parmesan on top and serve immediately.

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

RECIPE - Cuxá

Cuxá is the most well-known and emblematic dish from the Northeastern Brazilian state of Maranhão and combines influences from the four cultures that were most important in the formation of the state: black African, native American Indian, Portuguese, and Arabian (Syrio-Lebanese). This cultural mix is particular to Maranhão and gives the state a very distinct and unique feel, quite unlike the rest of the country. The basic ingredient of cuxá is vinagreira leaves (click here to learn more about vinagreira) which came to Brazil from Africa. A second leafy green, variously known as joão-gomes, carurú, lingua-de-vaca (cow's tongue) or bunda-mole (soft bum), was much appreciated by native Indians and plays an important part in cuxá's mix of flavors. From the Arabs comes the presence of sesame seeds, and from the Portuguese comes the method of preparation itself, which involves pounding or macerating the cooked greens and sesame seeds into a paste.

Cuxá is usually served as a side-dish to accompany fish, chicken or shrimp main courses, or is combined with rice to create arroz de cuxá.

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RECIPE - Cuxá

10 bunches vinagreira leaves
1 bunch lingua-de-vaca leaves
1/2 lb (200 gr) toasted white sesame seeds
1/4 lb (100 gr) toasted manioc flour (farinha)
1/2 lb (200 gr) small dried shrimp, soaked in several changes cold water to remove salt)
1 bunch green onions
1 bunch cilantro
1 fresh thai chile pepper, deseeded
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Wash the vinagreira and lingua-de-vaca leaves, remove stems and then place into a large pot of boiling water. Cook until the greens are limp and have lost their bright color. Remove the leaves from the pot, using a strainer-spoon, and reserve both the leaves and the cooking water.

In a large mortar-and-pestle, crush the toasted sesame seeds until coarsely consistent texture has been reached. Add the manioc flour and continue to crush until both ingredients are reduced to a paste. (This step may be done in a food processor, but the texture will quickly become overly-consistent).

In a food processor or blender, combine the cooked greens, the sesame-manioc paste, the shrimp, green onions, cilantro and chile. Add a small amount of the water in which the greens were cooked. Pulse the mixture two or three times, making sure not to over-process. The result should be a coarse paste.

Put the mixture into a large heavy pan. Heat over medium-low heat and add small amounts of cooking water if needed to obtain the proper consistency, which should be like creamed spinach or Indian saag.

Serve immediately as a side dish for any spicy main course, accompanied by steamed white rice.

RECIPE - Chucrute (The Brazilian Take on Sauerkraut) REPOST

(Please click here to read about this series of reposts of original posts from May 24, 2010 to June 12, 2010)

Southern Brazil's state of Santa Catarina received a large influx of European immigrants in the 19th Century, continuing on into the early years of the 20th Century. They came to the south of Brazil as it was fertile land, suitable for agriculture, and most of had been farmers in Europe. The south was relatively unpopulated at the time, and so was eager to absorb and immigrant population. And finally, the temperate climate of the south, with hot summers and cold, sometimes freezing, winters was less of shock to the immigrants' systems than the tropics further north.

One of the most numerous groups of immigrants that came to Santa Catarina were from Germany. The first German immigrants arrived in 1828, and by the end of the 19th Century, large parts of Santa Catarina were settled primarily by Germans. The two largest settlements were in Blumenau and Joinville, cities which today still have a very German flavor. At the present date, 40% of the population of Santa Catarina can trace its roots back to Germany, and in some areas of the state, German is more commonly spoken than Portuguese.

One of the recipes that arrived in Santa Catarina with the early immigrants from Germany was sauerkraut, still a popular dish today. Over time, influenced by the French name for sauerkraut - choucroute - the Portuguese name changed to the somewhat more Latin-influenced chucrute (pronounced shoe-crew-tchee), but the recipe is still recognizable as German sauerkraut. Here's how chucrute is made today in Blumenau, Joinville and numerous other towns and villages of Santa Catarina.
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RECIPE - Chucrute
Serves 4

1 lb. sauerkraut (preserved in glass jar is better than tinned)
1/2 cup smoked bacon, in 1/3" cubes
5 bay leaves
5 black peppercorns
8 dried juniper seeds
pinch of granulated white sugar
1 small white onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
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Put the sauerkraut in a sieve or colander and run cold water over it to remove the brine. then squeeze it gently in the hands to remove excess moisture. Put the bacon cubes in a heavy, medium saucepan, and fry it until the fat is rendered and cubes are crispy. Add the bay leaves, the peppercorns, the juniper and the sliced onion and continue to fry over medium heat until the onion is soft and transparent but not browned. Add the sauerkraut, forkfuls at a time, and using the fork to separate the strands. Stir well, add the white wine, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced by half. Serve immediately.

INGREDIENTS - Vinagreira, a versatile Hibiscus

Hibiscus Sabdariffa, one of the many members of the Hibiscus family, is an important medicinal and culinary ingredient in many corners of the world. In English, the common name for this plant is the Roselle or Rosella, though in the Caribbean it's known as Sorrel. In Spanish-speaking Latin America the name is Flor de Jamaica and in Brazil it's called Vinagreira.

The plant is cultivated commercially in Latin America, Africa and Asia. Various parts of the plant have commercial value - the woody stems yield bast fiber, which is used to produce burlap. The calyx of the flower is exported to Europe and North America where it produces a natural food coloring, and the dried calyces are used to make infused teas called "Hibiscus Tea" or in Spanish "agua de Jamaica".  Anyone who has drunk Red Zinger tea has already sampled Hibiscus Sabdariffa, and it's this plant which gives the tea its brilliant red color. In many countries where this plant is cultivated, its leaves provide the most common culinary use, and among these countries is Brazil.

In Brazil, cultivation of vinagreira as a cooking ingredient is strongly associated with the remote Northeastern state of Maranhão. Maranhão differs from the other states of Brazil's Northeast in culture, racial mixture, dialect, art and history, as well as cuisine. Having been at various times a colony of France and the Netherlands, as well as of Portugal, and being largely inaccessible from other parts of Brazil during colonial times, Maranhão has a unique flavor all its own. For example, it is only in the traditional cooking of Maranhão that you find use of vinagreira , but there it is a keystone ingredient and is essential in the preparation of the most famous dish from Maranhão, cuxá.

Once you have tasted vinagreira leaves, you'll understand where the Portuguese name comes from, as the high Vitamin C content of the leaves gives them a very acidic taste. Other regional names for the plant in Maranhão include caruru azedo, which means "acidic caruru."

Future posts on Flavors of Brazil will be featuring the foods of Maranhão, and will include a number of recipes which include vinagreira. 

If you wish to grow  Hibiscus Sabdariffa in your own garden, whether for making hibiscus tea, using the leaves in a recipe from Flavors of Brazil, or just for the beauty of its flowers, seeds can be purchased online from Onaleeseeds.com. Click here for a link to the ordering page for this plant.According to the site, it can be grown successfully in USDA zones 6-11.

RECIPE - Pamonha

In yesterday's Flavors of Brazil, I posted a recipe for a sweet corn pudding called canjica. In that article there was a link to a video from Folha de S. Paulo, a national newspaper in Brazil. The video was a demonstration of the process of making canjica by a charming woman named Dona Antônia, who recently won a culinary competition during the festas juninas in Northeastern Brazil.

Dona Antônia deserves a return appearance here on Flavors of Brazil. Even though she only speaks Portuguese and consequently many readers of this blog won't understand her, she is so delightful that I can't resist linking to another of her videos on the Folha de S. Paulo website.

The competition that Dona Antônia won was a search for the best pamonha maker in the Northeast of Brazil. Pamonhas are similar to Mexican tamales and are associated with the festas juninas, although they are popular year round. A few months ago pamonhas were featured on Flavors of Brazil, although at that time, no recipe was published. So to remedy that lack, and to give Dona Antônia another opportunity to shine, here is a link to her video demonstration of pamonha making, followed by the recipe itself.

VIDEO

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RECIPE - Pamonha
Makes 12

12 ears very fresh corn
4 Tbsp. sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold whole milk
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Cut off the bases of the ears of corn, then carefully shuck them, taking care not to rip the husks if possible. Reserve the husks. Remove all the silk from the cobs, then trim them.

Grate the ears of corn over a large container, then pour the liquid through a sieve, pressing down on the solids to extract all the juice. Stir the sugar and salt into the corn juice until dissolved, then add the milk. Reserve.

Trim the corn husks into equal sized rectangles (see examples on video). Using a corn cob as a mold, wrap the cob in at at least four husks, remove the cob, and tie one end of the package of husks securely with kitchen twine. (see demonstration on video). Carefully fill each package with the liquid corn mixture, then tie the other end of the package with twine tightly.

Bring a large quantity of water to boil in a stockpot or other large saucepan. Lower heat, then carefully place the packages in simmering water to cover. Partially cover the stockpot or pan, and let the pamonhas simmer for one hour. When done, remove the pamonhas from the water and let them drain thoroughly. Serve hot or at room temperature.

These are Brazilian Dishes?? (REPOST)

(Please click here to read about this series of reposts of original posts from May 24, 2010 to June 12, 2010)

Imagine that you just bought a book of Brazilian regional cuisine. It has a beautiful cover and you thought it would be nice to have a book of Brazilian recipes in your collection of cookbooks. When you get it home and open it up to thumb through some recipes you find recipes for these dishes: lasagne, gnocchi, beefsteak tartare, chucrute, spatzle, Kassler rippen, and even knackwurstchen mit sauerkraut und salat. You'd think that somehow the wrong cover got put on the wrong book, and what you had was not a Brazilian cookbook but a German or Italian one. If your new book was about the regional cuisine of the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, however,then those recipes are exactly the ones you  should expect to find, as they are the typical foods of this state of immigrants, particularly from Germany and Italy.

Southern Brazil is different from the rest of the country in topography, climate, racial and ethnic mixture, and all forms of culture, including cuisine. The three southern states, Paraná, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul, share a temperate climate that is very different from most of Brazil, which is tropical year-round. In the mountains of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul temperatures fall to freezing or below frequently during the winter months of June, July and August. Most of the current population of these states can look back up the family tree to find ancestors living in Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Lebanon or Syria. And like descendants of immigrants around the world they continue to honor their immigrant heritage. Village festivals might include Oktoberfest-style beer tents and oom-pa-pa bands in lederhosen. Italian holidays are celebrated, as is the grape harvest with wine festivals. It's very different from the beach, sun and palm tree picture postcard image that most people carry in their minds when they think of Brazil.

But just as Carmela Soprano's baked ziti cooked at her home in New Jersey is not the same thing as her great-grandmother cooked in Italy, the dishes of these states, although they might have a name that comes from the family homeland, have been molded and modified by the years spent in Brazil. It's interesting to see what has changed over the course of a trans-oceanic voyage and a century or two in the New World, and what has not. In the next few posts, I'll give you some recipes from this region that reflect the immigrant heritage of southern Brazil. One thing for certain, the ingredients will not be difficult to find anywhere in North America or Europe. This is the cuisine of temperate climates, and the ingredients are very similar to areas with similar climates north of the equator.

RECIPE - Creamy Corn Pudding (Canjica)

One of the most traditional foods of the festas juninas celebrations in Northeastern Brazil is a creamy dessert pudding made from grated fresh corn called canjica. (In other parts of Brazil, canjica may refer to other dishes entirely).

It's made by grating a dozen ears of fresh corn to extract the juice and then, after adding milk, sugar and spices, cooking down the liquid until it reaches the consistency of a thick pudding. It's served at the community fairs and street stalls that are an integral part of the festa junina tradition. It's also quite simple to make at home, though it requires a commitment of a considerable amount of time and elbow grease. But it's well worth the effort as it's comfortingly delicious.

If you click the link at the end of this paragraph, you'll be taken to the site of Folha de S. Paulo, one of Brazil's major national newspapers. On the page that's displayed you can click on a short video which is entitled "Master pamonha chef teaches how to make Northeastern canjica." The cook in the video, a charming woman named Dona Antônia, won a pamonha-making contest at the festa junina fair in Campina Grande, one of the largest such fairs in Brazil. (Click here to learn about pamonha). In this video she demonstrates how to make canjica. Although it's in Portuguese, the video shows the simplicity and charm of this country cook. The recipe below duplicates the recipe she details in the video.

VIDEO

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RECIPE - Creamy Corn Pudding (Canjica)

12 ears of fresh corn
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup whole milk
pinch of salt
powdered cinnamon to taste
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Grate the 12 ears of corn, saving the liquid in a large bowl. Pour the liquid through a sieve, pressing down on the solids to extract all the juice.

Put the liquid in a large, heavy saucepan, add the milk, sugar and salt. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then heat the mixture on the stove top over medium heat. Bring only to the simmer, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to maintain the simmer. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, for one and a half hours, or until the mixture has thickened to the consistency of pudding (or an English custard).

Pour into individual serving bowls, and sprinkle each serving with powdered cinnamon. Let cool, and serve at room temperature, or chilled if preferred.