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.

Brazilian Food Flavor Base: Garlic Paste

Lucky me, I made a new friend and she is from Brazil.  How fortunate I am to find a friend who loves learning about nutrition and experimenting with different fruits and vegetables.  Who wants to learn about cooking and gets excited about it.

I am learning about Brazilian food, and now, I am going to pass along some new knowledge to you. Lucky you!

"B" has graciously shared her recipes with me and let me share them on the blog.  Yeah!

Let's start today with a really basic item that she uses in practically all her cooking.  It lays a flavor base to grow on.  I have a little jar of it myself and it is nearly gone because, WOW, it's awesome.  I am sure going to make more because I love to use it.

This bowl of collard greens started off in the frying pan with some of the garlic paste.  It was so delicious.

Garlic Paste (Tempero Caseiro)
Recipe adapted from a Taste of Brazil.  A very fabulous blog.  Since my friend doesn't really have a recipe per say, she just kind of puts it together by heart, she found a recipe that comes pretty close to explaining what she does.

1 large onion or three small
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tsp salt
fresh or dried herbs, her favorite is fresh parsley


Peel and chop the onion into quarters. Peel the garlic cloves. Place all ingredients into a small food processor and blend until you have a fine paste. You could also use a mortar and pestle. If you want a more chunky paste, blend less. Pour the paste into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to one week. 

She adds that she makes hers and it lasts more than one week.  I have had mine now for about a month and am still using it.  There is a large salt content in it so I am sure that helps.  I recommend Kosher salt or sea salt (no iodine).

*****UPDATE******
My friend was over and I was making her paste and she told me what to add as I was doing it.  She had originally given me the recipe above as a guideline.  That would work for one dish but if you want the paste like she makes, that lasts in your fridge, the following is the way to go.

A large head of garlic
a small onion about a 1/2 cup
1/3 cup minced parsley
1/2 cup to 3/4 cup Kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Process in a food processor.  Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator.  Use sparingly- lots of flavor but very salty.