Brazil (5.6.19)
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Recipes contributed by Daniela Bruere.
Brazil is a huge and diverse country, and Dany comes from an area of northern Brazil known for its paradisiac beaches. For those visiting Brazil (or Chicago) and interested in a unique, hearty, and flavorful dining experience, she recommends trying out churrasco. For the program, Dany presented two delicious recipes that can be easily varied to the flavor and dietary preferences of the cook. In addition to the recipes below, we enjoyed a snack of queso fresco with guava jelly served on crackers. Yum! Click here to download these recipes. Want to try more Brazilian recipes? Click here for the archive from our program in 2013. |
Brazilian Chicken Stroganoff
A delicious stew with a tomato-y tang, Brazilian stroganoff isn't really comparable to the stroganoff of Russian origin many of us are familiar with. It is served over rice, and can be modified for vegetarian or dairy free diets as desired: tofu works well in place of chicken, and you can use coconut milk instead of table cream or whipping cream. Dany likes to add curry to the sauce, and she added some sprigs of thyme to the batch we enjoyed during the program, which added a savory sweetness. She also says squeezing an orange into the chicken marinade makes it extra tasty and tender.
From https://themissinglokness.com/2011/04/13/brazilian-chicken-stroganoff, adapted from food.com
4 – 5 servings
Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken thigh fillets (cut into 1-inch cubes)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 onion (finely chopped)
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon dry oregano
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons oil
½ lb white mushroom (sliced)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (Dany recommends the Rao brand)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 ½ tablespoons dijon mustard
¾ cup Media Crema table cream*
salt
ground black pepper
Directions:
*Nestle Media Crema Table Cream is like heavy cream that has a thick consistency. You can find cans of it in the Mexican aisle of most supermarkets. If you can’t find table cream, you can use sour cream, but the flavors will be very different. Whipping cream can also work in a pinch, but the result will be runnier.
**If the sauce is too thick after adding the table cream, add a little bit water. If the sauce is too thin, add a little bit more table cream.
From https://themissinglokness.com/2011/04/13/brazilian-chicken-stroganoff, adapted from food.com
4 – 5 servings
Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken thigh fillets (cut into 1-inch cubes)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 onion (finely chopped)
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon dry oregano
½ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons oil
½ lb white mushroom (sliced)
2 tablespoons tomato paste (Dany recommends the Rao brand)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 ½ tablespoons dijon mustard
¾ cup Media Crema table cream*
salt
ground black pepper
Directions:
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, garlic, half the onion, salt, nutmeg, oregano and white wine. Marinate for 1 hour in the fridge.
- In a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Sauté the remaining onion and mushrooms for a few minutes or until softened.
- Stir in the chicken and the marinade to the pan and cook for a few minutes. Add the tomato paste, ketchup and Dijon mustard.
- When the meat is cooked, add the table cream and mix well.** Reheat gently without boiling. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately over steamed white rice.
*Nestle Media Crema Table Cream is like heavy cream that has a thick consistency. You can find cans of it in the Mexican aisle of most supermarkets. If you can’t find table cream, you can use sour cream, but the flavors will be very different. Whipping cream can also work in a pinch, but the result will be runnier.
**If the sauce is too thick after adding the table cream, add a little bit water. If the sauce is too thin, add a little bit more table cream.
Daniela's Rice
Dany prefers to use Basmati rice. Here's her method of preparation.
Saute garlic in a little olive oil and/or coconut oil until fragrant.
Add rice and saute briefly.
Add water until it just covers the rice.
Bring to a boil, then put the lid on and let steam over low heat until rice is done.
Saute garlic in a little olive oil and/or coconut oil until fragrant.
Add rice and saute briefly.
Add water until it just covers the rice.
Bring to a boil, then put the lid on and let steam over low heat until rice is done.
Traditional Brazilian Brigadeiros
Though chocolate and coconut are the most common flavors, the sky's the limit when it comes to variations on brigadeiros. One of Dany's favorites is lemon, using grated lemon zest in place of the cocoa powder. While traditionally these would be rolled into balls, for a quicker version, you can just spread the mixture on a serving dish, as pictured here, and invite people to dig in with their spoons!
From https://www.laylita.com/recipes/traditional-brazilian-brigadeiros/amp/
Ingredients
Traditional brigadeiros
1 can of condensed milk (14 oz)
3 Tbs (1 oz) of cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon of butter
Chocolate sprinkles
Homemade condensed milk*
½ cup of hot water
1 cup of powdered milk
½ cup of sugar (add more or less, to taste)
1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)
*Vegan variation: Use soy powered milk instead of cow milk, and vegan margarine instead of butter.
Instructions
For the traditional brigadeiros:
Instructions for the homemade condensed milk:
Variations:
From https://www.laylita.com/recipes/traditional-brazilian-brigadeiros/amp/
Ingredients
Traditional brigadeiros
1 can of condensed milk (14 oz)
3 Tbs (1 oz) of cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon of butter
Chocolate sprinkles
Homemade condensed milk*
½ cup of hot water
1 cup of powdered milk
½ cup of sugar (add more or less, to taste)
1 teaspoon of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (optional)
*Vegan variation: Use soy powered milk instead of cow milk, and vegan margarine instead of butter.
Instructions
For the traditional brigadeiros:
- In a small pot, put the condensed milk, the cocoa powder (if you want, you can sift it) and the butter.
- Cook it over slow heat, always mixing with a wooden spoon or spatula, until it thickens and “slides,” not sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Turn the heat off and pour mixture over a platter lightly greased with butter.
- Let it cool down. Then, grease your hands with butter and mold the brigadeiro in little balls, taking small portions of the chocolate mix with the help of a small spoon. Cover the balls with chocolate sprinkles and put them in little paper molds or on a platter lined with wax paper.
Instructions for the homemade condensed milk:
- Put all ingredients in a blender (put the hot water first, carefully) and blend for at least 2 minutes, being careful not to burn yourself.
- Store it in a container with a lid and leave it in the fridge until it thickens a little bit.
- It can be used to prepare all recipes that call for condensed milk, including “pudim” (a type of flan).
Variations:
- If you want to prepare a “coconut brigadeiro”, which we call “beijinho”, use dried coconut flakes instead of chocolate/cocoa powder. Instead of covering the little balls in chocolate sprinkles, use coconut flakes (dried).
- If you want to prepare “cashew bigadeiro” (cajuzinho), use peanut or cashew powder instead of chocolate. Use it also to cover the little balls (you can also mold the candy as little “cajus”, a typical Brazilian fruit).
- There are many other variations using the same base, for example, “surpresa de uva” (grape surprise), or a strawberry variation (use strawberry Nesquik instead of chocolate and red granulated sugar instead of traditional sugar).