Brazilian recipe | Bewitching Kitchen

The Secret Recipe Club took a break in the month of December, but now we are back! For those who don’t know, the SRC is a fun blogging event in which you are paired (in secret) with another blogger, and on reveal day post a recipe chosen from that blog. Everyone in the same group posts at the exact same time, even if you are blogging from Japan. 😉 This month I was paired with Shirley, from the blog Enriching your Kid. Shirley is a clinical psychologist who, after having kids, opted for working very hard at home taking care of them and paying particular attention to a healthy nutrition. She cooks a lot of Indian food, so at first I had my mind set on one of her many paratha recipes, but then I spotted a very familiar Portuguese name – “bolo de fuba’ cremoso” – and that was it. I knew it would be my choice for the first SRC post of 2013. She added a nice twist to the classic, by incorporating pumpkin in the cake. Check out her post about it here.

PUMPKIN BOLO DE FUBA’ CREMOSO
(adapted from Enriching your Kid)

1 cup masa harina (corn flour)
3/4 cup pumpkin puree’
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp grated nutmeg
lemon zest

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Place all of the ingredients (up to the salt) in a blender or a food processor and mix for 4 minutes or until the mixture is smooth (it will be very liquid). If your processor or blender is very large, you can add the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise, transfer the mixture to a bowl and add the cheese, baking powder, nutmeg and lemon zest, mixing well with a whisk. Pour into a buttered and floured pan (8 x 8 inches).

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top of the cake is golden. Cool the cake before cutting it into slices.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: First, a little bit on language, as Shirley was puzzled about the gender issue in Portuguese. All nouns have a gender, and for the most part words that end with “a” are feminine. Words that end with “o” are masculine. However, there are exceptions. Fuba’, for instance, the term that describes a particular type of corn flour, ends with “a“, but it is masculine. Therefore, the adjective that goes along with it, “cremoso” (creamy) must agree with the gender, and end with “o“. Let’s suppose we were talking about a coconut concoction called “cocada“. Cocada ends with an “a“, and it is indeed feminine. In this case, creamy coconut would be described as “cocada cremosa“. Clear as mud? Well, mud is feminine: A lama. Earth is feminine: A Terra. Love is masculine: O amor (gotcha there! Amor ends with “r” to confuse non-native speakers ;-)).

Now, to the recipe: I made a few small modifications, using cooked pumpkin instead of raw. I absolutely had to put my beloved pumpkin puree to use, and that was a perfect opportunity. I also reduced the sugar slightly. If you are Brazilian and grew up enjoying bolo de fuba’, this version seems like a different sweet, mainly because of the nutmeg. If you are not too fond of nutmeg, or if you want something closer to the Brazilian version, reduce the amount or omit it. Pumpkin was a great addition to bolo de fuba’, I loved what its subtle taste brought to the cake.

Shirley, I will definitely be cooking other recipes from your blog, as Indian cuisine is fascinating and I don’t have enough experience with it. I hope you are having a great reveal day… 😉

For my readers: if you want to see what the crowd from SRC Group D came up with in this first posting of the year, click on the happy frog and a new page will open with plenty of great posts.

ONE YEAR AGO: Citrus-crusted Tilapia Filets

TWO YEARS AGO: Bran Muffins, not just for Hippies

THREE YEARS AGO: Flourless Chocolate Cake

The day was September 28th. The year was 2009. On that day I posted a recipe for Brazilian black beans, and promised a subsequent recipe for feijoada. It took me almost 2 years, but here it is! Be aware that any recipe for this great Brazilian dish will be controversial, just as a Bolognese sauce is for Italian cooks. Every family has their own favorite, and noses will twist at any deviations from their norm. It’s also tricky to find the authentic ingredients in the US, which my recipe takes into account by adapting to what’s available here. For instance, “carne seca” (dry meat, a delicacy NOT to be confused with the American beef jerky), and some parts of the pig that are sold salted and/or smoked (pig’s feet, ears, tail) are basic components of the Brazilian dish, but I can’t find them at American markets. Because they are so salty and some are also quite fatty, most recipes ask to soak these meats overnight (discarding the water) and cooking them separately from the beans until almost tender. I am substituting corned beef and other types of pork, easily available. I also omitted using a pressure cooker, to make the recipe feasible for those who do not own one. By the way, feijoada is a dish to be enjoyed at lunchtime, traditionally on Wednesdays or Saturdays. It’s such hearty dish that enjoying a plate of feijoada at dinner could be risky… 😉

FEIJOADA
(a family recipe)

2 pounds black beans
4 quarts water
2 pounds pork shoulder, cut in large cubes
1 cup orange juice
2 bay leaves
1 pound fresh spicy sausage (linguica)
3/4 pound corned beef
1 pound smoked pork chops
1/2 pound chorizo
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1/2 pound slab bacon, diced
2 onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Serrano peppers, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Cover the black beans with water and let them soaking overnight. Next day, discard all the water, place them in a very large pan, add water to cover them by an inch, bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes, without any salt.

Meanwhile, prepare the pork butt by placing the cubed meat in a large pan with 1 cup of orange juice, water to almost cover the meat, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, simmer for 45 minutes, covered. Discard the cooking liquid, reserve the meat, and add it to the black beans after they simmered for 45 minutes. Add the brisket in one piece and the bay leaves. Simmer everything together for 1 hour.

Add the smoked pork chops and both types of sausage, continue simmering for another 2 hours, keeping an eye on the water level, adding more if necessary. At this point, the meats should be tender enough to cut into pieces. Remove them, cut the brisket, the sausages, and add them back to the pan.

Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan, add the bacon cut in pieces, the onion, garlic, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the onion starts to get golden brown. Add the serrano pepper, saute for a minute, add the whole mixture to the black beans, holding back some of the fat in case the bacon released too much oil. Remove 1/2 cup beans with a slotted spoon (draining the liquid), add them to a small bowl and mash gently with a fork, forming a puree. Return the mashed beans to the pan.

Simmer everything for another 30 minutes or until the meats are completely tender. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, remove bay leaves. Serve over white rice, with fresh oranges, cut in large chunks.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

These photos were taken at my youngest niece’s home, she and her husband hosted an unforgettable Saturday lunch for the whole family. The table was beautifully set, with the green/yellow colors of Brazil, fitting the menu to a T.

Feijoada is always served with fresh chunks of oranges, sauteed and shredded “couve” (similar to collard greens), farofa, and white rice. The best way to serve it is to assemble all the goodies in a buffet type setting, so that each guest can make their own plate. In my family, we also provide an assortment of salads, especially now that we have two vegetarians in our crowd.

It is easy to understand why this meal suits lunchtime a lot better than dinner! 😉

What to drink with feijoada? If you want to remain authentic, go for capirinhas: either the traditional drink made with limes, or some of the many new departures on this classic. At any rate, my brother–in-law Celso is a pro at making capirinhas, one glass and one huge smile at a time…