1. Appetizers, Snacks & Street Food
One of the most well-known Brazilian street foods is acarajé, which are fried balls of shrimp, black-eyed peas, and onions. Fried rice balls (bolinhos de arroz) are similar to hush puppies made with rice instead of corn meal. And be sure to try empadinhas de palmito, which are small empanadas with a hearts of palm filling. Coxinha are my favorite - chicken croquettes made to look like drumsticks.
2. Main Courses
Feijoada
is probably the most famous and traditional of all Brazilian main
courses. It's a black bean stew with smoked meats that takes a full day
to prepare, so it's meant to enjoy over the weekend with friends.
Not surprisingly there are also many delicious seafood dishes in Brazil. Vatapá is a delicious shrimp dish with a rich cashew peanut sauce. Moqueca de peixe is a coconut fish stew that is easy to make and amazingly good. Cururu de camarao is a shrimp and okra gumbo, which can be made with frozen shrimp for a quick week night supper.
3. Accompaniments
Pao de Queijo
(cheese bread) is my favorite of all Brazilian recipes, and although
these rolls are typically enjoyed for breakfast or as an afternoon snack
in Brazil, I like to serve them with dinner.Farofa (toasted manioc meal) is an essential condiment for many Brazilian stews, especially feijoada. And everything goes well with Brazilian-style rice, which is prepared with tomatoes, onions and garlic.
4. Desserts
There are so many amazing Brazilian desserts. This is just a partial list to get you started. My favorite in this group is the passion fruit mousse cake. If you don't have time to make the cake, serve just the passion fruit mousse. Quindin are also delicious little coconut flans that are fairly simple to make, and children cannot resist bridgardeiros, candy treats named for a famous Brigadier General who loved chocolate.
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