Description:
Shark fish and shrimps "moqueca".

Style: Brazilian.

Ingredients:
1 kg de cação
1 pimentão verde
1 pimentão amarelo
1 pimentão vermelho
2 cebolas grandes
4 dentes de alho
Coentro, sal, pimenta do reino
4 tomates grandes
1 vidro de leite de coco
3 colheres de óleo de dendê

Directions:
Corte a cebola, os pimentões em pedaços grandes.
Refogue tudo junto com o alho, coloque o cação e junte os demais ingredientes.
Cozinhe por 5 minutos e junte o coentro.
Adicione os camarões, previamente refogados.
Cozinhe por mais 10 minutos.
Pronto.

Description:
Style: Portuguese

O peixe mais apreciado em ocasiões especiais.

Tradicional nas mesas portuguesas, o bacalhau também é presença quase que obrigatória nos menus da Semana Santa, período em que a Igreja Católica recomenda a abstinência de carne.

Pescado entre os meses de março a outubro nos mares da Noruega, na verdade, a denominação bacalhau abrange quatro tipos de peixe.

O Cod é o mais apreciado entre eles. Também conhecido no Brasil como Bacalhau do Porto, esse peixe é considerado o legítimo bacalhau. Normalmente, é o maior, o mais largo e com postas mais altas. Quando cozido, a carne desfaz-se em lascas claras e tenras. Também é o mais caro.

O Saithe, outro peixe que pode ser transformado em bacalhau, tem uma cor mais escura e sabor mais forte. Desfia com facilidade, sendo muito utilizado para bolinhos, saladas e ensopados de bacalhau. É mais barato que o Cod.

O Ling tem a carne clara como a do Bacalhau do Porto. Muito apreciado no Brasil é mais estreito que os demais, e, portanto menos aproveitável. Já o Zarbo é o mais barato e o mais popular dos bacalhaus.

A necessidade de encontrar alimentos que suportassem as longas viagens marítimas de antigamente fez os portugueses desenvolverem técnicas eficientes para processar o peixe mais precioso do Atlântico Norte. Porto é a cidade portuguesa pioneira no processamento e exportação do bacalhau, por isso a denominação Bacalhau do Porto.

Gato por lebre:

Na hora de comprar o bacalhau é preciso estar atento a algumas dicas. Manchas escuras, são resquícios de sangue e indicam que o peixe não foi bem processado. A cor deve ser clara e homogênea. Para saber se o bacalhau está bem seco, confira se a cauda não está mole. E para não confundir: a cauda do Porto é levemente curvada e a do Saithe tem forma de V.

O Bacalhau Fresco é um peixe magro, com menos de 1% de gordura, além de ter um valor nutritivo muito elevado. Geralmente as peixarias importam o peixe congelado da Noruega e vendem-no embalado. Deve-se observar bem a embalagem desse tipo de produto e comprar com fornecedores de confiança, porque muitas lojas fazem passar por bacalhau outros peixes como o cação, o mero e a abrótea, conhecida como falso bacalhau.

Segredo de sucesso:

Um prato de bacalhau bem sucedido depende fundamentalmente do processo de dessalgar o peixe. O método mais prático de tirar o sal do bacalhau consiste em colocar os pedaços de bacalhau já lavados com a pele para cima em uma tigela com água. Esse refratário deve ser tampado e levado à geladeira. Troque a água com freqüência, pelo menos quatro vezes ao dia. Um bacalhau de postas altas deve ficar de molho por 48 horas. Para postas médias, são necessárias 36 horas e para as finas, 24.

Ingredients:
- 500 g de bacalhau
- 2 dentes de alho amassados
- 2 colheres (sopa) de alcaparra
- 1 colher (sopa) de salsa picada
- 1/2 pimenta dedo de moça cortada em rodelinhas
- 8 azeitonas pretas em lascas
- 2 colheres (sopa) de azeite de oliva
- suco de 1/2 limão
- folhas de alface para enfeitar

Directions:
Coloque o bacalhau de molho na véspera, trocando a água 4 vezes. Afervente por 10 minutos. Espere esfriar e retire a pele e as espinhas. Tempere-o com todos os ingredientes até que a salada fique úmida. Sirva com as folhas de alface.

Description:
Like many Brazilian foods, Pão de Queijo from scratch is tricky to prepare.
It is difficult to make the balls rise as much as the prepared mix. Also, the rolls can harden very easily if left overnight.
The secret is to use mashed potatoes in the dough.

Ingredients:
2 lb of manioc starch (polvilho). You can use either sweet or sour manioc starch. Some people complain that sour manioc starch causes heartburn, however sour manioc starch makes the rolls rise more. It is your choice.
1lb of mashed potatoes (just cooked potatoes, mashed with no salt or oil).
2 tablespoon margarine
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 oz grated parmesan cheese
2 cups (500ml) milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F
The mashed potato should be cool before using.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except the milk. Then add the milk slowly while you mix until you get a soft dough.
Place 1 inch balls spaced in a unbuttered cookie sheet and bake at moderate oven (350 F) for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 50 rolls.

Hint: you may find manioc starch, called Polvilho in Brazil, with the name "Tapioca flour".

Description:
My favorite "easy-to-do" dessert!

Ingredients:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk.
3 eggs.
2 cups of milk.
1 cup of sugar.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 °F.
Heat one cup of granulated sugar in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until sugar dissolves and become caramel colored.
Quickly pour onto bottom of a deep-dish 9-inch pie plate. Swirl around bottom and sides to coat.
Mix in a blender: sweetened condensed milk, eggs, and milk.
Pour into prepared pie plate. Place pie plate in a large roasting pan. Fill roast pan with tap water to about 1 inch deep. (pie plate should not float).

BAKE for 90 minutes in moderate oven or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
Remove flan from water. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

SERVE: Run a table knife around edge of pie plate. Invert serving plate over pie plate. Turn over and shake gently to release flan. Caramelized sugar forms the amber sauce. Serve refrigerated.

Hint: Flan will release easily from pan if stay refrigerated overnight. Prepare your dessert the day before.

Description:
Rabada is traditional in our region of Minas Gerais State.
As most of the Brazilian recipes, the rabada goes through two cooking processes Portugueses brought to Brazil.
The first process is the "ferventar". We use ferventar to make desserts as well as meats. Ferventar is basically to lightly boil the food in plenty of water to sterilize the food and to reduce the fat content in case of meats.
The "refogar" process is similar to the Chinese process of stir-fry or the French Sauté process. We use refogar to release the smell and taste of the meats and vegetables and blend their taste with the taste of spices used in a dish.
But there is a difference, we use refogar a food even when we are preparing a stew, or a soup.

Ingredients:
4 lbs of oxtail cut ups.
1 cup of lemon juice
1 cup of cachaça (or vodka)
½ cup oil
5 cloves of garlic minced
2 diced onions
2 bunches of watercress
1 cup of sliced carrot
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
red pepper (optional)

To prepare this dish, you need to buy a fresh oxtail. The salted one is not good.You should be able to find oxtail in any grocery store if you order it.Don't be afraid it looks exotic but tastes good.


Directions:
Rinse the oxtail and place in a large saucepan with the lemon juice and cachaça. Cover the oxtail with water and boil for about 10 minutes. Place the oxtail in a colander to discard the water and set aside the oxtail. (This is the process we call "ferventar" in Brazil).

Combine in the saucepan the 1/2 cup of oil, garlic, onions, salt and fry the previously cooked oxtail until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drain the excess of fat. This is the "refogar" process.

Then pour water slowly while cooking to make a sauce. Combine the bay leaves, carrot and watercress and red pepper if you like. Add water enough to partially cover the oxtail and make a sauce.

Taste to see if you need to add more salt. And finish cooking, about one hour more. The meat should be tender but still attached to the bones.

Serve with white rice and corn porridge ("polenta").

Description:
Vatapá is a seafood dish with a thick sauce made from bread paste, coconut and dendê oil. It is probably the most famous Brazilian dish of African origin.


Ingredients:
1 Loaf of French or Italian bread, soaked in water (200 g or 7oz bread).
2 tablespoon of blended baked peanuts
1 lb cooked shrimp
1 cup dried shrimp (optional)
Ground seasoning with parsley, onion and ginger.
Salt.
2 cups coconut milk
½ cup palm oil (azeite de dendê)

Directions:
Combine in a blender all the ingredients except the cooked shrimps.
Pour the mixture in a large saucepan and simmer for about 20 minutes or until you get a thick cream. Add the shrimps and cook additional 10 minutes.

SERVE: Place the vatapá in a ceramic casserole to serve. Serve on the top of white rice.

Description:
Ok, it's not Brazilian... But I love it!!!

Tabbouleh is a delicious Middle Eastern salad or appetizer.
This dish popular in Lebanese cuisine is said to have originated from the random pickings of whatever the kitchen garden offered. It is eaten with the "meshwi" of chicken, kebabs, and grilled sausage.
Besides being succulent, tabbouleh provides a wealth of antioxidant vitamins A and C.

Ingredients:
5 cups of parsley chopped
1/4 cup of green mint chopped
1 cup of spring onions chopped
4 small tomatoes chopped in small cubes
1small cup of crushed wheat (burghul) aready soaked in water and softened (this is optional)
lemon juice
extra virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper

Directions:
Undo the parsley and gather the sprigs into small bundles so that the leaves are packed together at the same level. Rinse and drain well. Place each bundle on your chopping surface, grip the upper part of the parsley firmly with one hand, and with the other, use a sharp knife to cut off the stalks. Chop the rest of the parsley.
Wash the burghul, drain quickly, squeeze out excess water and place in a salad bowl. Cover the burghol with the tomatoes; allow it to absorb the tomato juices. Meanwhile, sprinkle the onion with the salt and black pepper, then add to the burghul and tomato in the bowl. Add the lemon juice, mint and parsley, and mix well; taste and adjust seasonings. If the tabbouleh is not moist enough, add a little bit of lemon juice.

Serve immediately with leaves of lettuce. You may also pile the tabbouleh into a pita pocket.

(Aknowledgement: Antoine)

Description:
Potato salad is very popular in Brazil. The basic differences the Brazilian salad has are:
There is no celery (Celery is not widely used in Brazil)
All vegetables are peeled.
We increment the taste with sour diced apples.

Ingredients:
2 lb white potatoes
1 lb carrots
2 hard boiled eggs
1 cup mayonnaise
1 can green peas
Salt with garlic
Chopped parsley
1 green apple
½ cup seedless white raisins

Directions:
Cook the potatoes and carrots for 5 minutes in a pressure cooker with salt and garlic.
Peel the potatoes and carrots and cool them completely. Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes and carrots into ½-inch cubes.
Peel the green apple, remove the core and dice apple into ¼-inch cubes.

In a large bowl, combine the diced potatoes, carrots, sliced eggs, drained green peas, diced apple, raisins. Add the mayonnaise while stirring the salad with a wood spoon.
Decorate with the chopped parsley and refrigerate.

Hint: For a stronger taste, add some green olives to the salad.

Description:
Brigadeiro candy is a must have in any birthday party and kids love them. I admit, I love it too!!

Ingredients:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 tablespoon margarine
3 tablespoon cocoa powder

Directions:
Over medium-low heat, stir vigorously the sweetened condensed milk, margarine and cocoa powder.
Cook the mixture until it thickens enough to show the pan bottom during stirring.
Pour the mixture in a greased dish and let it cool to room temperature. Take small amounts of the mixture with a teaspoon and make 1 ½ inch balls.
Roll the balls over chocolate jimmies to decorate.

Hint: Grease your hands with margarine to make the balls easily.

If the balls don't hold the shape and flat down like coins, it means that you did not cook enough. Cook additional five minutes, take a small sample and dip it in a glass with cold water. If you cooked enough, this sample should hold the shape after cooling down in the water.

Serve: Place the balls in candy cups to serve.

Description:
Brazilian Vinaigrette Salsa is great with Brazilian Barbecues or on top of any meat, fish and sausage.

Ingredients:
Note: all diced ingredients = ¼ inch
1 cup of diced green and red bell peppers.
½ cup diced onions
1 cup diced ripe tomatoes.
¼ cup white wine vinegar.
2 tbs of olive oil

Directions:
In a bowl, mix green and red peppers, onions, tomatoes, vinegar and olive oil.

Hint: add salt to the salsa right before serving it. Salt dehydrates the tomatoes in the mixture if let for long time.

Description:
A traditional barbecue (churrasco) in Brazil always have:
White rice
Farofa (seasoned manioc flour)
Brazilian vinaigrette salsa
A variety of grilled meats and sausages.

Brazilian grills do not use sauce on meats. Instead, most of Brazilian barbecues marinate the meat. Some simply spread marine salt on the meat during cooking.

Ingredients:
10 lb of fine quality cuts of beef, lamb, veal, ribs, etc.
½ cup of salt
6 mashed cloves of garlic
3 cups of water

Directions:
Set the fire and be sure the coals are bright before putting on the meat.

Assemble meat cuts on metallic skewers and set on the grill. Turn skewers frequently. When the meat begins to brown, make a salty liquid dissolving the salt in the water with the garlic and baste the meat with it.

Cut slices from outside and serve. Keep meat warm on the grill while not serving. Always baste the meat waiting on the grill with the salty liquid to keep it juicy and fresh.

Description:
The slaves in the colonial Brazil created the "Feijoada".
They started cooking the pork meats that Farmland owners discarded such as ear, tails, feet in a big pot with black beans.
This dish became traditional all over the country. Since then, the dish was incremented with pork sirloin and sausages that transformed the menu in a famous entrée that everybody who visit Brazil have to taste.
The following recipe is an easy-to-do version of "Feijoada" made only with pork tenderloin and sausages.
This recipe is preferred for busy people that don't want to handle the salted pork ears, tails and feet found in the complete "Feijoada".

Ingredients:
1 lb of varied pork sausages (prefer smoked sausages)
1 lb of pork tenderloin
some slices of bacon
1 can of black beans (15.5Oz)
2 tbs vegetable oil
salt, garlic, chopped onions and bay leaves (bay leaves give a special taste to feijoada)

Directions:
Feijoada is made with black beans and pork meats.
Add black beans to a medium-sized pot with 2 tbs oil, salt, garlic, chopped onions and about 6 bay leaves.
Cook for about 15 minutes in med heat and set aside.
In a separated panfry, cook cubes of pork tenderloin and slices of bacon with salt, garlic.
Add all the sausages sliced and stir medium-heat until dry all the water.
Add the cooked meat to the pan with the black beans and your feijoada is ready!
Cook your feijoada more 10 minutes to meat soak in the black beans. You can add some pepper sauce to your feijoada at this point.

Hint: to make the feijoada creamy, liquefy 1/2 cup of black beans in the blender and add to the feijoada.

SERVE:
Before serving the "Feijoada", you can serve a caipirinha as an appetizer.
Feijoada is a main dish frequently served with white rice, collard greens and seasoned manioc flour (farofa).
To follow the "Feijoada", we serve orange segments as a dessert.

Description:
Brazilian traditional drink.
This is a summer drink to appreciate before eating.
Decorate the glass with a slice of lime. Great with Brazilian barbecues.
Can also be prepared with Vodka - then it's called "Caipiroska".

Ingredients:
1 lime quartered
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 shot of CACHAÇA (sugar-cane bitter water)
1/2 Cup of ice cubes with water

Directions:
Place the lime and sugar in the bottom of a glass.
Using the handle of a wooden spoon, crush and mash the limes.
Pour the liqueur and ice.
Stir well.