Food: Brazilian

Showing posts with label Brazilian. Show all posts

Monday, December 9, 2013

Brazilian Skirt Steak with Golden Garlic Butter

Based on a dish you’ll find in restaurants in Rio de Janeiro, this recipe uses few ingredients but packs a lot of bold flavor.

6 medium cloves garlic

Kosher salt

1-1/2 lb. skirt steak, trimmed and cut into 4 pieces

Freshly ground black pepper

2 Tbs. canola oil or vegetable oil

2 oz. (4 Tbs.) unsalted butter

1 Tbs. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Peel the garlic cloves and smash them with the side of a chef’s knife. Sprinkle the garlic lightly with salt and mince it.

Pat the steak dry and season generously on both sides with salt and pepper. In a heavy-duty 12-inch skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add the steak and brown well on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes per side for medium rare. Transfer the steak to a plate and let rest while you make the garlic butter.

In an 8-inch skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Add the garlic and cook, swirling the pan frequently, until lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Lightly salt to taste.

Slice the steak, if you like, and transfer to 4 plates. Spoon the garlic butter over the steak, sprinkle with the parsley, and serve.

Brazilian Chicken Salad Sandwich

This easy take on a sandwich sold by vendors along Rio de Janeiro’s beaches is packed with grated vegetables, sweet raisins, fresh lime juice, and cilantro. It’s like no chicken salad sandwich you’ve had before.

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 cups shredded roasted chicken meat (homemade or from a store-bought rotisserie chicken)

1/4 cup golden raisins

1 large celery stalk, finely chopped

3 Tbs. finely chopped yellow onion

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup grated carrots

1/2 cup grated beets

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

8 Boston lettuce leaves

8 slices whole wheat bread, toasted if desired

In a medium bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, 1 Tbs. of the lime juice, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Add the chicken, raisins, celery, and onion. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

In another medium bowl, combine the oil with the remaining 1 Tbs. lime juice, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Mix in the carrots, beets, and cilantro.

Put a lettuce leaf on 4 of the bread slices, then top with the chicken salad, carrot mixture, another lettuce leaf, and another slice of bread.

Brazilian Chicken & Shrimp Stew (Xim-Xim)

This is my take on xim-xim, a traditional stew from Brazil by way of West Africa. Xim-xim relies on a specific set of ingredients: dendê oil (the Brazilian name for palm oil), coconut milk, and nuts. You can substitute olive oil for the dendê oil. For more information on these authentic Brazilian ingredients, check out our ingredient profiles.

3 cloves garlic

Kosher salt

1 large white or yellow onion, coarsely chopped (3 cups)

2 large ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped (1 cup)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro stems and leaves plus 1/2 cup whole leaves for garnish

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

4 fresh Thai bird chiles, coarsely chopped, or jarred malagueta peppers, drained

1 Tbs. minced fresh ginger

Freshly ground black pepper

4 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs (1-1/2 lb.)

1 lb. jumbo shrimp (21 to 25 per lb.), shelled and deveined

2 Tbs. plus 1/3 cup lightly salted cashews, toasted

3 Tbs. olive oil or well-shaken dendê and soy oil blend

3/4 cup well-stirred canned coconut milk

Hot cooked white rice for serving

Peel and chop the garlic. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. salt, and with the side of a heavy chef’s knife, mash to a paste. Transfer to a food processor and add the onion, tomatoes, chopped cilantro stems and leaves, lime juice, chiles, ginger, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper. Pulse until finely chopped and almost smooth. Put the chicken and shrimp in a large bowl, add the onion mixture, and turn to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.

Meanwhile, pulse 2 Tbs. of the cashews in a spice grinder just until finely ground; do not let them form a paste.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, brushing excess marinade back into the bowl. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Season on both sides with 1/4 tsp. salt. Heat 2 Tbs. of the olive or dendê oil in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until very lightly browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the thighs to a plate as they are browned.

Remove the shrimp from the marinade and set them aside. Put the marinade in the Dutch oven, add the coconut milk and ground cashews, and cook over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, for 3 minutes to cook off the raw onion flavor.

Return the chicken to the Dutch oven, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally and turning the chicken halfway through cooking, until the chicken is tender and cooked through, about 25 minutes total.

Increase the heat to medium, stir in the shrimp, and cook, stirring constantly, just until the shrimp are bright pink and nearly opaque throughout, 2 to 3 minutes; they will continue to cook after they’re removed from the heat. Off the heat, stir in half the remaining cashews and half the whole cilantro leaves. Season to taste with salt.

Transfer the chicken to a large deep platter and pour the shrimp and sauce over it. Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbs. dendê or olive oil, top with the remaining cashews and cilantro leaves, and serve hot with the white rice.

Pistachio Brigadeiros

Brigadeiros are Brazilian candies that owe their melt-in-your-mouth texture to sweetened condensed milk, cooked down until it's thick and fudge-like. Though chocolate brigadeiros are the classic, pistachio is a tasty flavor variation.

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. finely ground pistachios

2 tsp. light corn syrup

1 tsp. unsalted butter

Put the condensed milk, cream, 6 Tbs. ground pistachios, corn syrup, and butter in a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat to medium low, and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and pulls together into a dense batter, about 12 minutes. When the mixture is ready, the whisk will leave trails in the batter, allowing you to briefly see the pan bottom, and when you tilt the pan, the mixture should slide to the side in a blob, leaving a thick residue on the bottom of the pan.

Slide the mixture into a bowl. (Don’t scrape the pan—you don’t want to use any of the batter stuck to the bottom.) Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then refrigerate until very firm, 3 to 4 hours.

Put the remaining 1/4 cup ground pistachios in a bowl. Using a teaspoon or a melon baller, scoop the mixture by the teaspoonful, and with your hands, roll each into a ball about 1 inch in diameter. Drop each ball into the pistachios as you finish rolling it. When you have 4 to 6 brigadeiros, roll them in the pistachios and lift them out with your fingers semi-open, carefully shaking off the excess. If the pistachios don’t stick to the outside, re-warm the balls by rolling them briefly between your hands and then try to coat them again.

Chocolate Brigadeiros

Like many Brazilian sweets, fudge-like chocolate brigadeiros are named after a famous personality. Brigadier Eduardo Gomes was a well-known Brazilian Air Force commander who loved chocolate. Legend has it that brigadeiros were created for and named after him.

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

2 Tbs. heavy cream

1 tsp. light corn syrup

1-1/2 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (preferably 60% to 62% cacao), chopped

1 tsp. Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 cup chocolate sprinkles (preferably Guittard)

Put the condensed milk, butter, cream, and corn syrup in a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Add the chocolate and cocoa powder and continue to whisk, making sure there are no pockets of cocoa powder. As soon as the mixture comes back to a boil, turn the heat to medium low and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and pulls together into a dense, fudgy batter, about 8 minutes. When the mixture is ready, the whisk will leave trails in the batter, allowing you to briefly see the pan bottom, and when you tilt the pan, the mixture should slide to the side in a blob, leaving a thick residue on the bottom of the pan.

Slide the mixture into a bowl. (Don’t scrape the pan—you don’t want to use any of the batter stuck to the bottom.) Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then refrigerate uncovered until very firm, 3 to 4 hours.

Put the sprinkles in a bowl. Using a teaspoon or a melon baller, scoop the mixture by the teaspoonful, and with your hands, roll each into a ball about 1 inch in diameter. Drop each ball into the sprinkles as you finish rolling it. When you have 4 to 6 brigadeiros, toss them in the sprinkles to coat. You may need to exert a little pressure to ensure that the sprinkles stick.

Coconut Brigadeiros

Brigadeiros are Brazilian candies that owe their melt-in-your-mouth texture to sweetened condensed milk that's cooked down until it's thick and fudge-like. Though chocolate brigadeiros are the classic, coconut is a tasty flavor variation.

1 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

2 tsp. light corn syrup

1 cup finely shredded, unsweetened coconut (toasted, if desired)

Tip:

If you can’t find finely shredded unsweetened coconut, you can buy coconut chips or flaked coconut and run it through a food processor until it looks like it was grated on the smallest holes of a box grater. Be sure it’s unsweetened, or the brigadeiros will be much too sweet.

Put the condensed milk, coconut milk, butter, corn syrup, and ½ cup of the coconut in a 3-quart heavy-duty saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Turn the heat to medium low and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens and pulls together into a dense batter, about 8 minutes. When the mixture is ready, the whisk will leave trails in the batter, allowing you to briefly see the pan bottom, and when you tilt the pan, the mixture should slide to the side in a blob, leaving a thick residue on the bottom of the pan. (It’s OK if the residue is slightly brown.)

Put the remaining ½ cup coconut in a bowl. Using a teaspoon or a melon baller, scoop the mixture by the teaspoonful, and with your hands, roll each into a ball about 1 inch in diameter. Drop each ball into the coconut as you finish rolling it. When you have 4 to 6 brigadeiros, roll them in the coconut and lift them out with your fingers semi-open, carefully shaking off the excess.