Farofa

"B" also made farofa, a popular Brazilian side dish.  It was delicious and I like her take on this classic of Brazilian cuisine.  She added olives, dried cranberries and mixed vegetables. It was a rainbow of color beneath that manioc flour.  Just beautiful, with lots of textures and flavors.  Sweet next to salty.
If you want a basic farofa recipe, go to the NY Times- Farofa.

I have been watching the kid Chef program from Food Network.  On the first episode, I believe it was, one of the kids made farofa.  How cool is that?  It's funny how once you hear about some things then you start hearing about it all over.

I like how they asked the kids, what is their cooking style?  I asked myself, what the heck is my cooking style?  How come these kids know what their cooking style is and I don't.  I should know that, right?  Well, in thinking about it.  I guess I kind of know that already but never really clarified it and thought about it specifically.  Now, if someone asks me I can say, ethnic, healthy and mostly from scratch.  How's that?

Farofa 


1/4 pound bacon

1 to 1 1/2 cups toasted manioc flour* (casava- you want the course kind- not the fine flour kind)

1 small to medium onion

1 cup mixed vegetables, frozen

1/4 cup dried fruit such as cranberries, cherries or raisins 

1/4 cup sliced green olives

4 cloves garlic

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 - 2 tablespoons butter (if you are starting with the bacon already cooked.  Or if you need a bit more fat.)

If you have garlic paste (like on previous post) you can skip this step.  Finely chop the garlic on a cutting board, sprinkle salt over it.  Let sit while you begin the other steps.  Once the salt has pulled some of the moisture out of the garlic, run the blade of your knife at an angle over the top of it, mashing it as you go.  Do this a few times, until the garlic turns into a paste.

In a frying pan, saute bacon.  Add in the onion and garlic paste when the bacon is nearly done.  Saute onions until they are translucent.  Add in the vegetables and cook until they are heated through. Then, add the cranberries and olives. Heat until they are warmed.  Sprinkle in the manioc flour, evenly.  Keep stirring to mix it through everything else. Serve.


* Get the toasted variety if you can.  If not toast it until it is lightly golden in a dry frying pan. 

You can put in less manioc flour to the recipe if you like.  Its kind of a "do it to your taste" kind of thing.