Sunday, July 27, 2008
The Food Journey: A Mineira
Two weeks ago I arrived in São Paulo tired and hungry. My friends Milton and Eduardo took me to a 'mineiro' buffet, featuring the cuisine of Brazil's Minas Gerais state, mining center, cradle of independence, and home of hearty cooking..
The basics, clockwise: at the top, delicious black Brazilian beans simmered in salty perfection with a sprinkle of mandioc flour for texture, then, the goodness of white rice... In the middle, okra and chicken breast, at the bottom, a gritty and tasty corn purée. Finally, at the left, 'feijao tropeiro,' or read beans with lean bacon, mandioc, onions, and spices... I didn't need seconds...
Casseroles based on beans are the pride and glory of mineiro cooking. Each of these delights features a different kind - or - combination of meats. I bet mineiros have many words for beans, as eskimos do for snow...
Tasty bits of friend everything, which I went easy on - bananas, potatoes of different types cut or mashed/fried.... Typical Brazilian food has variety but is not 'gourmet,' and generous portions and pleasant textures make up for its workaday flavor combinations. Of course, São Paulo has hundreds of top-flight gourmet and international restaurants that would knock your socks off (and clean out your wallet....
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