Hey all,
I'm back today with something I thought you'd all enjoy. As I've mentioned in the past, one of my favorite things to do in a new country is to try all the wonderful new foods and drinks that are available. And so far, Brazil is no different. There are many delicious taste sensations, each very different from the other. In fact, I'd have to move here permanently to get to eat them all!!!
In today's blog, I thought I'd share a couple of recipes I've discovered her in South America, as well as one of the best drinks I've ever tasted! I hope you enjoy them as much as Jonathon and I have!
So let's start with a cocktail, shall we?
Caipirinha – Brazilian National Drink
Ingredients
4 generous Tablespoons of
sugar (or to taste)
5 lime wedges
7 count pour of Cachaca
(Brazilian alcohol make from distilled sugar cane)
Ice
Directions
Muddle (crush) sugar and lime
together in shaker using pestle. Add
Cachaca and shake well. Pour into proper
container for serving, or individual glass with ice.
**CJ says it's awesomely
delicious just as is, but you can also use strawberry, kiwi, pineapple and
other fruits in the muddle.
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One of the dishes I've discovered in Brasilia is called Pamonhas, which is the Brazilian version of a tamale. I'd seen them in Sao Paulo, but never had a chance to try fresh ones. Here in Brasilia, near the hotel is a weekend craft fair and they have a large food area there as well. And one of the vendors sells these delicious treats. They aren't easy to make, but if you like tamales, and want to try something a little different, you should give these a shot!
Pamonhas come in two basic varieties in Brazil, savory and sweet. Savory pamonhas are often filled with chopped meat or chicken, but can also be made without stuffing. Sweet pamonhas are generally unstuffed, but can be flavored with coconut milk. The ones I tried were sweet and had a bit of cheese in them like the picture above. (I liked that one the best.)
Ingredients (makes 12)
12 ears very fresh corn
4 Tbsp. sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold whole milk
4 Tbsp. sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup cold whole milk
Directions
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. Put the grated corn into a blender or food processor. Add the sugar and salt into the corn mix and blend, then add the milk. Blend it all together so that you get a corn paste. (add coconut milk instead of regular milk if you want a sweeter pamonha. Or half and half, depending on taste.)
The next step is the tricky part: stuffing the husks with the corn paste. Using a corn cob as a mold, wrap the cob in at least four husks, remove the cob, and tie one end of the package of husks securely with kitchen twine. Carefully fill each package with the liquid corn mixture. At this point you can add stuffings of your preference to the middle of the corn paste: try ground beef, sausage, cheese or shredded chicken. Don't add to much, or it will get messy. Then tightly tie the other end of the package with twine.
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.
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Now of course to finish up our meal, we have to have some sort of sweet. There are several ones I could choose from, but my all time favorite so far is a yummy little treat called Pacoca. The first one I had was made by--I know it's odd--Hershey's!!!! And from that moment on I was hooked. I tracked down the recipe and it's easy enough to make in my hotel room with my little blender, so anyone can make it. So if you like Reese's Peanut Butter cups, or Peanut Butter and Chocolate Christmas Balls, you'll adore this new desert candy.
Ingredients (makes 20 - 30 pieces of candy depending on size and shape)
1 1/2 cup peanuts, lightly salted
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup manioc flour or manioc starch (can't find? Use corn flakes from the ethnic food aisle)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup condensed milk
Directions
Blend the peanuts with the sugar, salt, and manioc meal until very finely ground.
Add a tablespoon of condensed milk and blend for 30 seconds. Check if mixture is starting to come together by pressing some into a ball with your fingers.
If the mixture will form a ball that stays together well, it's ready. If it is still too crumbly, add more condensed milk and blend.
Now is the time to form the candy. You can do this in one of several ways.
A) Press mixture firmly into a square 8 inch by 8 inch pan lined with wax paper. Once done, remove candy from pan by lifting out the wax paper, and cut into smaller squares.
B) Roll into 1" balls. Arrange on pan lined with wax paper.
C) Roll into 2" long by 3/4" wide logs. Arrange on pan lined with wax paper.
D) You can also use greased cookie cutters (simple shapes) to cut pieces out of the candy, or press the candy into molds to shape it. Arrange on pan lined with wax paper.
If you want the chocolate variety, melt semi-sweet chocolate in microwave or on stove in double boiler and carefully dip candies. Arrange on pan lined with wax paper. Put in refrigerator to cool.
Store in airtight container. (IF you haven't eaten them all!!!)
* * * * *
I
hope you've enjoyed this taste of Brazil. Have a South American recipe
you'd like to share? Put it in the comments below! I'd love to hear
from you!
Hugs and see you next time,
1 comment:
This all looks delicious. To bad you can't send the actual food via internet.
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