FAVOURITES
THE TROPEIRO BEANS
The tropeiro bean is a typical dish from the Brazilian states Minas Gerais and São Paulo.
From the Colonial period, the transport of goods was done by troops on horseback or on loins of donkeys. The men who guided these animals were called tropeiros. It was still like this, until the middle of the 20th Century. Beans mixed with manioc flour, cracklings, sausage, eggs, garlic, onions and seasonings, became a basic dish of these men's menus, hence the origin of tropeiro beans
SHRIMP STUFFED PUMPKIN
​The shrimp stuffed pumpkin is a typical dish of the southeast region of Brazil, especially of the coast of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Espírito Santo. The dish happened by accident, according to historians, when there was not a suitable bowl to put the shrimps for cooking. It was then improvised a bowl with the use of a semi-carved pumpkin. The taste of the shrimp was delicious, as was the combination of the flavour of the shrimps and the pumpkin, which gave a special touch to the delicate taste of the crustacean.
THE FEIJOADA
Feijoada, the iconic dish of Brazil, is often believed to be a product of the 'favelas', or slaves. The often repeated story is that the local black beans were the main staple reserved only for the slaves, cooked with meat leftovers from the manor houses unfit for the palate of the masters. In fact, the dish does not have any connection with slavery; on the contrary, the oldest references to feijoada points to the restaurants patronized by the urban elite with many influences of different cultures that form the ruling classes of Brazil. The feijoada is beyond a simple dish, but a whole menu, with sides like cooked collard greens, rice, farofa, salsa and orange slices, called “feijoada completa”, it is a feast on its own.
THE KIBBEH (Fried Meat Ball)
Kibe is a typical Middle Eastern dish consisting of a dumpling of wheat or semolina, stuffed with meat (ground beef), seasoned with herbs, which can be served raw, cooked or fried. The name derives from kubbeh which in Arabic means ball. It is a very popular dish and considered the national dish in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. It is also common in North Africa, Turkey, and the Arabian peninsula
Due to immigration, Brazilians got used to eat Kibe and they love it! It is most common as a snack and it can be found in almost any bakeries, snack bars, and some restaurants and bars
THE PÃO DE QUEIJO / CHEESE PUFF
​The origin of “Pão de Queijo” or Cheese Roll, is still a bit uncertain according to many researchers; however one thing that they agree about the origin: Minas Gerais, in the Southeast of Brazil around the XVIII century.
The cassava flour, today known as ‘polvilho’, were the ingredient that the cooks from the big farms used to bake bread for the Portugueses. They did not used the common wheat flour. The reason is because when the Portugueses arrived bringing the wheat flour it was in bad condition for consumption. So, they preferred to use the local and known flour. To not waste the cheese that was going bad, the cooks decided to mix with the ‘polvilho’ and ended up creating a new kind of bread.
It is worth mentioning that the popularization of this snack only happened after the 50’s, coincidentally along with the development of bakeries and goodies. From that decade, the delicacy began to be consumed in the whole country.