Tasting Brazil At the 10th Annual Brazilian Street Carnaval, food, drink and dancing abound
Press TelegramTuesday, Sept. 13, 2005
Alessandra Djurklou
Food Editor
If you were unable to get to Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year, you're in luck. Because, like Mohammed's mountain, Carnaval is coming to you.
On Sunday, the 10th Annual Brazilian Street Carnaval will be held on the downtown Promenade in Long Beach (that's the same place the Farmer's Market roosts Fridays), and it features two parades with feathered showgirls, lots and lots of samba music (with samba legend Carlinhos do Pandeiro de Ouro as emcee), crafts and, most importantly, food.
One of the vendors who will cook food at the Carnaval is Silvio Correa, who owns Silvio's Brazilian Barbecue in Redondo Beach (www.silviosbbq.com). Correa, as his business' name implies, is a specialist on barbecue. Growing up in Sao Paolo, Correa watched his family cook barbecue, but mostly he was self-taught, cooking barbecue for his friends at his beach house.
"One day, my friend said, 'Why don't you open up your own business?' " Correa said.
So he did. Correa's kind of barbecue is different
from the kind you get at a Brazilian steak house, or churrascaria. There is no meat on spits, just meat cooked on the grill, then cut up and served by the grill master.
"It's traditional family barbecue," said Correa, adding that he specializes in tri-tip, chicken and Calabrese sausage.
When not appearing at festivals, or running his restaurant with his business partners, Correa has a catering business. And barbecue isn't the only thing on the menu, either. Silvio's is happy to provide patrons with the Brazilian national dish, feijoada (a pork and bean stew) or its most popular carnaval drink, the caipirinha.
Brazil is a country with many culinary influences. Colonized by the Portuguese in the 1500s, Brazilians, unlike most of South and Central America, speak Portuguese, not Spanish.
Unlike the Spanish, the Portuguese were less interested in territory than in trading. For a long time, settlements stayed on the coast. But eventually, sugar plantations were set up, and with the sugar cane came African
Feijoada (pork and bean stew), caipirinha and bolinos de chuva (donut balls). (Cristina Salvador / Press-Telegram )
slaves. Unlike other American slave systems, however, the Portuguese intermarried freely with both slaves and native tribes. Immigrants from other countries, including in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, also contributed to the melting pot of cultures.
The recipes that follow have been adapted from ones found on several sites, including www.cookbrazil.com.
For Brazilian barbecue, homestyle, visit Correa's booth at the Carnaval.
TAGLINE: Alessandra Djurklou can be reached at 499-1252 or by email at alessandra.djurklou QUICK FEIJOADA (Pork and bean stew)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
Salt
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
3 bay leaves
3 slices bacon
Salt and pepper
1 pound pork tenderloin, cubed
1 pound varied pork sausages (smoked sausage preferred), sliced into rounds
½ cup chicken broth
Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add garlic, and saute until just fragrant. Add onion and salt to taste. Cook, stirring, until onions are soft and translucent. Add beans and bay leaves, reduce heat to a simmer, and cover skillet. Let bean mixture simmer about 10 minutes.
Chop up bacon, and add to a heated cast iron skillet. Cook bacon on medium heat until crisp. Transfer bacon to skillet with beans. Cover again.
Add pork to skillet that cooked the bacon. Brown pork on all sides, seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer cooked pork to skillet with beans. Add sausage to skillet that cooked pork and bacon, and saute until golden on each side. Transfer to skillet with beans.
Add chicken broth to feijoada, stir, and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and allow feijoada to cook about 15 minutes, or until pork is cooked through.
Serve over rice. Like all stews, this one tastes even better the next day.
Makes 6 servings.
BOLINHO DE CHUVA
2 eggs
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup all purpose flour
½ cup corn starch
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ cup milk
Oil to deep fry
¾ cup sugar, mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon, for coating
In a large bowl, mix in the eggs, sugar and pinch of salt. While mixing with a wood spoon add the flour, corn starch, baking powder and milk until you get a batter similar to cake batter.
Preheat the fryer to 350 degrees, and using two tablespoons, take a spoon of batter and scrape off the batter into the fryer using the second spoon. Fry about six doughnuts each time until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes, flipping just once for overall browning. (The doughnut will flip by itself). Remove the doughnuts from the oil and drain on a paper towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with powdered sugar with cinnamon and serve.
Makes about 25 doughnut balls.
CAIPIRINHA
1 lime, quartered
1 tablespoon sugar
1 shot cachaca (see note)
½ cup ice cubes
Place the lime and sugar in the bottom of a glass. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, crush and mash the limes. Pour in the liqueur and ice. Stir well. Garnish with lime.
Makes 1 drink.
Note: Cachaca is a Brazilian alcoholic drink available at specialty liquor stores. Morry's of Naples, on 5764 E. Second St. in Long Beach, carries it. Alternately, use vodka or rum.