NORTHEAST BRAZIL - Brazil - page 172

The Flavors of Northeast Brazil
Northeast Brazil has two distinct regional cuisines,
a reflection of both culture and climate. The narrow,
densely populated coast, rich in fresh fruit and sugar
cane and bordered by a generous sea, is home to an
African-descended population who flavor their food
with coconut milk and red dendê (palm) oil. The
interior, or sertão , is arid semi-desert, given over to
cattle tended by the cowboy descendents of Portuguese
immigrants. The interior cuisine consists of sober,
simple dishes, whose staples include sun-dried meat,
manioc (cassava) root, rice, and black beans.

Spicy cayenne pepper

beef or, just as often, goat -
in the Northeast is usually
either sun-dried ( carne de
sol ) or air-dried and heavily
salted ( carne seca ). Both are
served in small portions,
often shredded, and mixed
in with either beans, rice, or
manioc. Manioc, indeed, is a
centerpiece of northeastern
cooking. Sliced into strips
and fried, the sweeter version
of this versatile root is known
as macaxeira . Plain ground
manioc flour ( farinha ) is

often served as a side dish;
locals put it in their morning
coffee. Pan-fried with a little
oil, the manioc flour becomes
another common side dish,
farofa . Finally, the lighter
parts of the manioc root are
made into tapioca, the base
ingredient of desserts and
breakfast pancakes. Desserts
in the Northeast are usually
simple mixtures of sugar and
tapioca or cornflour, often
covered in condensed milk.
Also popular are small and

Distinctive caju fruit of the cashew
tree, showing the nut

Clam Lobster Octopus

Giant shrimp

Squid

Red mullet

COZINHA NORDESTINA

When Brazilians refer to
cozinha nordestina (north-
eastern food) they usually
mean the dishes of the hot,
dry hinterland. Fresh ingre-
dients are few here, and
refrigeration virtually non-
existent. Ingredients include
the more resilient vegetables
such as beans, corn and,
especially, manioc. Meat -

Some of the fish and seafood of Brazil's Atlantic coastline

REGIONAL DISHES & SPECIALTIES
Bahian cuisine is the most popular and
sophisticated in all of the Northeast.
The cooking is characterized by the
use of coconut milk, hot peppers,
and, importantly, dendê oil, which
gives the dishes their deep orange
color. This oil is extracted from a palm tree
that was brought to Brazil by African slaves.
Signature Bahian dishes include moqueca , vatapá , and bobó
de camarão . All are variations on a tasty seafood stew.
Traditionally, a moqueca is cooked in a large clay pot and
served with white rice and a serving of pirão , a manioc
paste. Both bobó de camarão and camarão na moranga
(see p393) feature large, juicy prawns cooked in coconut
milk. The camarão na moranga comes served in a
hollowed-out pumpkin shell, its broth thickened with the
addition of fresh, sweet pumpkin, locally called jerimum .

Dendê oil

Bolinho de bacalhau is a
Portuguese snack made
from mashed potatoes
and shredded salt cod.