Brazilian recipes

Typical Brazilian dishes, what are they? 

Un Viaggio Culinario in Brasile: Alla Scoperta dei Piatti Tipici

Il Brasile, con la sua vastità territoriale e la sua ricca storia, offre una gastronomia variegata e affascinante. Infatti, la cucina brasiliana è un mosaico di sapori, influenzata da culture indigene, africane ed europee. Ma quali sono i piatti tipici brasiliani che vale la pena assaggiare?

Un Paese, Infinite Ricette

La domanda “Quali sono i piatti tipici brasiliani?” non ha una risposta univoca. In effetti, la diversità culinaria del Brasile è tale da rendere impossibile elencare un singolo piatto rappresentativo. Tuttavia, possiamo suddividere la cucina brasiliana in diverse regioni geografiche, ognuna con le sue specialità e tradizioni culinarie.

Un Viaggio Gastronomico per Regioni

• Nord-Est: Questa regione, bagnata dall’Oceano Atlantico, è famosa per i suoi frutti di mare e la sua cucina afro-brasiliana. Piatti tipici sono l’acarajé, una frittella di fagioli fritti ripiena di gamberi, e la moqueca, uno stufato di pesce o crostacei al cocco.
• Sud-Est: Cuore economico del Brasile, il Sud-Est è caratterizzato da una cucina più variegata, con influenze europee e indigene. Qui troviamo la famosa bean stew, uno stufato a base di fagioli neri e carni varie, e il pão de queijo, un pane di formaggio tipico dello stato del Minas Gerais.
• Sud: Con un clima più freddo, la cucina del Sud è più simile a quella europea, con un’abbondanza di carni e prodotti caseari. Il churrasco, una grigliata mista, è il piatto forte di questa regione.
• Centro-Oeste: Questa regione interna è caratterizzata da una cucina semplice e gustosa, basata su ingredienti locali come il manzo e il mais. Il arroz carreteiro, un riso condito con carne secca e verdure, è un piatto tipico.
• Nord: La cucina del Nord è fortemente influenzata dalle popolazioni indigene e presenta piatti a base di pesce d’acqua dolce, frutta esotica e spezie. Il tucupi, una bevanda fermentata a base di manioca, è una specialità locale.

Un’Esplorazione Continua

In conclusione, la cucina brasiliana è un universo da scoprire. Oltretutto, ogni regione, ogni stato e persino ogni città ha le sue specialità locali.

Per approfondire la tua conoscenza della gastronomia brasiliana, ti invitiamo a esplorare le nostre ricette e le nostre guide dedicate. Inoltre, non esitare a condividere le tue esperienze culinarie e a suggerirci nuovi piatti da scoprire.

Buon appetito!

Typical Brazilian dishes from the Southeast

bean stew

It's not just the dish best known of Rio de Janeiro, it is also one of the most widely disclosed Brazilian recipes.

There bean stew it consists of a mixture of cooked black beans, with the less noble parts of the pig, such as the ear, the tail, the sausage and the dried meat. It is usually served with cabbage and rice.
It is said that the bean stew was invented by slaves, who prepared their food with the remains and leftovers that were discarded from the tables and kitchens of their masters.

This is why the meat used is not noble.

Moqueca Capixaba

This is a typical dish of the Esperito Santo, but it is famous among Brazilian recipes. There Moqueca Capixaba it consists of cooked fish, vegetables and seafood. It can be prepared with various types of fish, such as Red grouper, the tiger shark or dorado fish (salminus brasiliensis).

What never changes in the preparation is the use of the terracotta pot, which brings with it all the tradition.

The dish is usually accompanied by rice, pirão and lots of happiness!

Pão de Queijo

You can't not go to Minas and not taste one of their Brazilian recipes like the Pao de queljo (Cheese sandwiches). It's like I've never been there. Cheese bread is one of the greatest symbols of Minas Gerais cuisine. Such is the richness of gastronomy in Minas Gerais. However, cheese bread wins in versatility, being a food for any time, especially with a little coffee.

Despite the name "bread", it should not be made with flour, but with Polvilho azedo (cassava starch) which is a product derived from cassava. The story goes that this recipe appeared on the Minas Gerais farms in the quest to replace wheat flour in some dishes, at a time when access to flour was scarce.

Typical Brazilian dishes from the Northeast

Carne de sol

Carne de Sol (the Carne del Sole) is nothing more than a piece of meat a little soft and a little hard and salty, prepared according to the "Northeast" tradition. It has this name because in ancient times it was brought under the sun to dry.

Nowadays, meat is no longer dried in the sun. The procedure must now be done in a refrigerated environment, so as not to dry the meat too much, which in this case would turn it into dried meat.

It usually comes with fried cassava, cottage cheese, and green beans.

 

Acarajé

L'acarajé is a typical dish of Bahia, produced with Bahian characteristics and sold in their stalls (street food), on the street. It is a typical Brazilian food that is also reminiscent of Brazil's African heritage, but which today also enchants locals and tourists.

L'Acarajé is a small bundle of beans, fried in palm oil with a filling of vatapá, dried shrimp and vinaigrette and chilli. The latter you have to be very careful, because in Bahia a spicy dish is really very spicy.

Beware when you go to Bahia and they ask you if you want Acaraje Hot or Cold, be very careful because in Bahia they don't talk about temperature but about the amount of spiciness What do you want. So if you tell him you want a Hot Acaraje, rest assured that you will have to drink lots of water or milk. Because in Bahia they are used to eating spicy.

Tapioca

There tapioca it has an indigenous origin, but over time it has spread throughout the region to the point of being recognized as a typical dish of the north-east. Its origin comes from granulated cassava starch, which when heated forms a united mass.

In recent years it has become very famous for being an excellent substitute for bread, for those who are gluten intolerant. Its versatility is also one of its resources, as it can be filled with salty foods such as shredded chicken, turkey breast and cheeses, as well as sweet foods such as brigadeiro or Doce de leite.

Typical Brazilian dishes from the North

Pato no Tucupi

Pato no tucupi is a typical dish of Paraense cuisine and consists of a roasted duck, with a sauce made with Tucupi, which is a yellow liquid extracted from the cassava root.

It is an originally indigenous recipe, which used tucupi to prepare wild ducks, roasting on stone stoves.

A curiosity here is that the Tucupi is initially poisonous, it must be boiled slowly for many hours in order to lose all its hydrocyanic acid.

 

Tacaca

Even the Tacacá is a delicacy of indigenous origin, which is part of Brazilian recipes, very famous throughout the north of the country.

It is made with tucupi and tapioca gum extracted from cassava. The dish is served hot and with dried shrimp and jambu, an Amazonian leaf that can cause a tingle in the lips.

 

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Açaí

Açaí is a fruit that is already widespread throughout Brazil, although it is traditionally native to the north of the country. It is not difficult to find açaí stalls on the beaches or even see among the desserts such as ice cream.

In the rest of Brazil they make smoothies with guarana, banana and strawberry, as well as being mixed with different things: granola, syrup for slushes and other desserts.

One way or another, it is a very healthy food, containing vitamins, iron, calcium and phosphorus, as well as other nutrients.

 

Typical Brazilian dishes from the South

Churrasco

Churrasco is perhaps the most famous dish in Rio Grande do Sul. There is no one who has ever heard of gaucho barbecue. They are really experts when it comes to meat.

The origin of this tradition is believed to come from the mid-17th century, when cattle were abundant in the region, but the most valuable part was the leather. Therefore, beef became one of the main components of the diet of the people of that region, who developed the best techniques for preparing it.

To this day they are very traditional in the preparation of meat, seasoned only with coarse salt and often roasted as the old tropeiros did, that is with the fire burning in a hole in the ground and the meat suspended from a wood.

Chimarrao

Chimarrão is a traditional drink from the southern region of South America, in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Paraguay and has a strong consumption in Brazil in the southern region of the country, more specifically in Rio Grande do Sul, but it is also consumed by Paraná and Santa Catarina. It is a direct inheritance of indigenous peoples, such as the Guaranis, Quechua and Aymara.

These indigenous peoples lived where there were the Paraná, Paraguay, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina rivers. The chimarrão is a weed-mate in which hot water is added and consumed inside a cuia. Its bitter taste varies depending on the amount of weed-mate placed on it.

The ready-to-use herb is composed of thin leaves and dried and crushed Ilex paraguariensis branches which have a great variety of types and their way of preparation which can vary depending on the region and country where it is produced, in Argentina, for example, has a more yellowish appearance.

Tainha na Taquara

Tainha is a typical Brazilian fish that is also found in other regions of the country, but this way of preparing is typical of Rio Grande do Sul. It is one of the best-selling fish in the fish market, which usually happens from time to time in Porto Alegre.

The dish consists of a mullet which is roasted in firewood, trapped between bamboo skewers of taquara. Seasoned with garlic, olive oil, butter, chilli and lemon.

I suggest you accompany the dish with White rice and a good dry white wine.

barreado

barreado it is the most traditional dish in the state of Paraná. Its origin dates back to an açorian ritual over 300 years old, brought to Brazil by the Portuguese who occupied the Paranà coast in the 18th century.
One of the strongest characteristics of this dish is that if heated it does not lose its flavor or characteristics.

Traditionally, this recipe is made in a heavy clay pot. Veins cooked at a high temperature for about 20 hours.
This typical Brazilian food consists of one or more types of meats, such as duck, walnut or beef shoulder, seasoned with garlic, onion, pork loin, black pepper, bay leaf, cumin and cooked until they are completely frayed. It is served with cassava flour, rice and banana.

Typical Brazilian dishes from the Center-West

Arroz com Pequi

Pequi is a fruit originating from cerrado with a marked and particular flavor. It is considered the culinary gem of the Central West, being the raw material for many traditional recipes of the region.

The Pequi it is very aromatic, caloric and with a sweet taste. So if the taste is sweet and sour. However, it's always worth a try.

The dish basically consists of plain rice, but cooked together with pequi. This gives the rice its yellow color in addition to its very distinctive flavor and smell.

Pintado à Urucum

This is a recipe that is the face of the North West, since it uses as its main raw material what the region has the best to offer which are its fish.

The pintado ( Pseudoplatystoma) is one of the largest fish in the Pantanal and is very tasty, being a great meal option at the end of the week with the family.

A curiosity is that the dish initially did not have Urucum in the recipe, but was named in honor of the Morro do Urucum, which is located in Corumba in Mato Grosso do Sul.

Hot de Piranha

The fish that generates fear in so many people also serves as the basis for a delicious broth typical of the region.

Being an abundant fish, it ends up being a permanent figure in the meals of the local population and enchants tourists for being very good and also for its aphrodisiac properties.

 

Typical Brazilian desserts

To finalize these 15 fantastic dishes of typical Brazilian recipes, it's one better than the other, don't you think? And it is not finished in the site you will find hundreds of Brazilian recipes that may surprise your pallet.

I list 3 sweets most loved by Brazilians.

Pudim de leite

The milk pudding condensato is one of the most loved sweets by Brazilians and not only have I prepared for many Italian friends and every time they ask me to do it again.

It basically consists of a mixture of condensed milk, eggs and sugar, giving it a rather creamy but consistent consistency.

It is inspired by the Portuguese dessert recipe, but has a simpler execution, which makes it faster and easier to make, even if it is sweeter. Very similar to the Creme Caramel you make here in Italy. You can find the recipe here among the Brazilian recipes.

Brigadeiro

It can be said that the  Brigadeiro it is the most loved dessert of Brazilians and beyond. There is no region where it is not present, at birthdays or even at weddings.

The brigadeiro has already become a tradition for the holidays and even outside of them, it is a typical Brazilian dessert, without outside interference. It consists of a mixture of condensed milk, butter, cocoa powder and granulated chocolate for the coating.

It has this name because it was created with the intention of being served in events to raise funds for the candidacy of the Brigadeiro in Italian (Brigadiere) Eduardo Gomes. Being here, "brigadier" the highest aeronautical appointment. With the success of the dessert, the dessert of B. Eduardo Gomes was revealed, mandatory to be included in the Brazilian recipes.

Cocada

Cocada white, black, with peanuts, chestnuts or coconut with sesame is one of the traditional sweets most appreciated by Brazilians and tourists who will soon be enchanted with a unique taste of delicacy.

Its origin is not very clear, but some studies show that the cocada is a sweet created by slaves, who grated the fruit at night in the senzalà, mixed with sugar (brown) and cooked until it was at the point of curvature

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Conclusion

As we can perceive the typical Brazilian food is quite rich in aromas and flavors. Therefore, there is no option to delight in Brazilian regional dishes.

From acarajé to churasco, from açaí to pao de queljo, from feijoada to barreado. There are different types of food and dishes that Brazil offers to anyone willing to immerse themselves in their culinary culture.

Still don't know any of these dishes? So are you waiting for what to try? Read our Brazilian recipes and prepare it yourself at home.