Rice and beans

I'm beginning to feel a little bit as a Favelean now - and even though we have this very tiny kitchen in our apartment, today I went out shopping for one of the classic local dishes - beans and rice.

First and foremost because it tastes so good (we had it as our first meal at a street kitchen in Salvador, shortly after our arrival), but also because it is one of the basics in Brazilian kitchen - just like "sauce and potatoes" is in the Danish.


Now, I'm cooking, while, somewhere deep below, Michael is out running his daily distance along Ipanema beach. Eventually he has to climb the many hundreds or perhaps thousand steps leading up to our building on the mountain slope.

I hope, he'll be building up a healthy appetite, because there will be plenty  in the casserole.

Here is the recipe I have chosen:

Rice and beans or  “o arroz com feijão” :

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons of diced bacon or use a selection of salted meats (ready made from the supermarket)1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 500 g of dry beans soaked overnight1 tsp green onion or chives, finely chopped
• 1 chili, chopped and deseeded

Place the beans in a colander and rinse in cold water
Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Add chopped garlic and fry until golden brown. Lower the heat.
Add beans and, using the back of a spoon or ladle, smash some of the beans into a paste.
- Add about 2 dl of water. Add salted meat or bacon and bring to a slow boil and cook until the broth is thick ( cream consistency) and brown colored - you might need to add a little more water.
Add the chili ( optional)
Season to taste with salt if needed.
Add chopped green onions or chives before serving.

Caipirinha

Almost as important as the rice and beans is Caipirinha, Brazil's national cocktail, made with sugarcane alcohol, lime and sugar.

In our home, it is even more important, as this is the drink Michael and I are having every Friday and Saturday evening

 

 

The drink is prepared by muddling the lime and the sugar together, and adding the liquor.

• 10 cl cachaça (I use Serra Limpa Organica - even highend products are to be found in our favela)
• One lime cut into wedges
• 4 teaspoons cane sugar
• Sparkling water 

Preparation
Place lime and sugar into old fashioned glass and muddle (mash the two ingredients together using a wooden spoon or a muddler).

Fill the glass with crushed ice ( if you are a gringo, like me you want to make the icecubes with purified water) and add the Cachaça.

Top up with sparkling water

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner