World Recipes

Brazilian Black Bean Stew (Feijoada)

1 (3 to 4 pound) smoked beef tongue
8 cups cold water
2 (12 ounce) packages dried black beans
1/2 pound dried beef
4 smoked chorizo links
1/2 pound sliced bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
Sauce
1 large orange, thinly sliced
Hot cooked rice

Place beef tongue in Dutch oven; add enough water to cover beef. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer until tender, about 3 hours.

Heat water and beans to boiling in Dutch oven or large kettle; boil gently 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour. Remove and mash 2 cups beans and liquid; reserve mashed beans for Sauce.

Plunge beef tongue into cold water. Cut lengthwise slashes in skin; peel off skin. Remove any fat and cartilage. Cut beef tongue into 1/4-inch slices; stir into unmashed beans. Cut dried beef into bite-size pieces; prick chorizos thoroughly with fork. Stir dried beef, chorizos and bacon into beans and tongue. Add just enough water to cover. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 hour.

Prepare Sauce. Stir half the Sauce into meat-bean mixture. Cover and cook until beans are mushy, about 1 hour, adding 1/2 to 1 cup water if necessary.

Heat remaining Sauce over low heat.

Arrange beef tongue slices in center of platter; arrange remaining chorizos around tongue slices. Pour Sauce over meats. Cut orange slices into halves; arrange around meats. Pour remaining beans into tureen; serve with rice.

Yields 12 to 14 servings.

Sauce
1 chorizo, cooked with beans
4 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Cut reserved chorizo into 1-inch pieces. Cook and stir chorizo and remaining ingredients in 10-inch skillet over medium heat 3 minutes. Stir 2 cups reserved beans into chorizo mixture; heat until hot.

Cocada Branca (White Coconut Flake Candy)

This candy is from Brazil.

This is a recipe for white coconut candy. It is called "white" because there is also black cocada (cocada preta). The black cocada is made with brown sugar and has a dark brown color.

4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
2 coconuts
4 cloves (optional)
1 cinnamon stick (optional)

Grate the coconuts with a hand grater (Do not use blender, food processor. Coconut flakes already grated will not taste the same as freshly grated coconuts).

In a large saucepan, combine the water, sugar, cloves and cinnamon. Boil for about 20 minutes or until you get a thick syrup. Test by dropping a full teaspoon of syrup in a glass with water. The syrup should become a soft candy. (You can remove the clove and cinnamon from the syrup at this point).

Remove the saucepan from the heat and mix in the grated coconut with a wooden spoon. Return the saucepan to heat and cook additional 5 minutes. Perform the water glass test again to make sure it has boiled long enough.

Use a large spoon to drop amounts of melted cocada onto a buttered baking sheet.

Let cocadas cool, then serve.

Caramel Flan Brasileiro

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can milk
1 egg
Dash of vanilla extract
Several heaping tablespoon granulated sugar

Pour sweetened condensed milk into a blender. Fill the empty can with milk and add that to the blender. Add egg and vanilla extract. Blend until well mixed.

Meanwhile, cook sugar in a pan, rotating the pan occasionally to avoid burning the sugar. When the sugar is a golden caramel color, pour it into a metal ring mold. Pour in the mixture from the blender, and bake at about 300 to 350 degrees F with the ring mold pan in a larger pan of water so that the water comes up about halfway on the outside of the ring mold. Bake until the top of the flan starts to turn golden and a knife inserted into the flan comes out clean…a little over an hour.

Verduras en Escabeche (Pickled Vegetables - Guatemala)

5 jalapeno chiles, each about 2 inches long
1 tablespoon corn oil
2 cups diagonal 1/8-inch thick slices carrots
1 pound cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets
1 cup sliced onion
5 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon oregano
4 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup cider or white vinegar

Fry the chile peppers in the oil for 2 minutes to soften the skins. Remove the chiles, slice them open vertically, and remove seeds and fibers. Set aside.

Blanch the carrots, cauliflower, onion and garlic separately in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain well and mix them all together. Put them into a glass jar or stone crock.

Mix the thyme, oregano, bay leaves, salt and sugar in the vinegar. Pour this over the vegetables and mix well. Allow the escabeche to marinate for 1 day or more before using. The pickle can be refrigerated or stored at room temperature in a cool place.

Platanos al Horno (Baked Plantains - Guatemala)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ripe plantains, with black skins
2 tablespoons butter

Mix sugar and cinnamon together.

Peel the plantains and split them open lengthwise but do not cut completely through. Sprinkle them inside and out with the sugar mixture. Cut dabs of butter into the slits. Coat a baking dish with butter and add the plantains. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes until soft and brown.

Serve warm with fresh cream and honey.