Brazilian Food

brigadeiro

I must say that one of the things that I miss the most from home is the food. Brazilian cooking is very rich, we have influences from all over; Portuguese, Italian, French, slaves, native and one big mix. The most famous dish is called “feijoada” which is black beans cooked with pork pieces. This is served with rice and “farofa” which is a dish made of “mandioca” flour. People often have some deep-fried breadcrumbs, banana and pieces of orange with it. It might sound weird but I promise you, it is delicious!

coxinha

We also have a lot of savoury and sweet snacks that, when I was back home, I could go to any bakery or supermarket and just buy it all the time. I never had to make anything and now being so far away I had to start learning how to cook and bake Brazilian dishes.

I always try to do something every now and then. My South African friends think that every Brazilian sweet dish must have condensed milk, well, not all, but most of it ☺

quindim

One big difference between Brazil and South Africa is the use of the avocado pear. In South Africa it is used in the food while in Brazil we eat it as a fruit. We cut the avocado pear in half, sprinkle sugar over it and eat it with a spoon, as simple as that. And the avocado pear in Brazil is double the size of the ones found in South Africa. We also make “batida” which is kind of a “smoothie”; we blend avocado pear, milk and condensed milk (here it is again!) and there it is! Delicious! A must try!