The Hungry Cyclist - Cycle Touring & Eating The World

Cassava Chips - National Chip Week

It's about time we had some good news in the UK and I was as pleased as Wayne Rooney to discover that this week is National Chip week. In England we love our chips and from 9-15 February National Chip week will help promote all things chips, which cooked properly and contary to popular belief still have all the goodness of potatoes and can be enjoyed as part of a balanced diet. 

But as well as being the other half of our national dish and enjoyed from Belgium to Guatemala, in some corners of the world the climate and soil are not suitable for growing potatoes, but fear not. The love of chips still prevails and in the tropics of Brazil locals get down with cassava chips for their fix.

The cassava, yucca or mandioc root, is a native plant of Brazil that has been cultivated and processed in South America for nearly 5000 years. A relative of the ubiquitos yucca plants that seem to decorate dentist’s waiting rooms and urban gardens, cassava as a plant is easy to propagate, it grows well in low-nutrient soil and it can be harvested every two months providing plenty of well needed carbohydrate for hungry hard working locals. But after the the discovery of the new world it wasn't just the locals that enjoyed cassava.

Once European colonists had discovered the virtues of this exotic crop that could be prepared in large quantities and would keep dry for several years, it became an ideal food for the crew and cargo of slave ships. Exported from Brazil cassava quickly spread throughout Africa, Asia and Europe fast becoming and remaining today a dependable food source for developing countires.

But as well as being a staple ingredient for the indigenous tribes of Brazil prior to colonization, and used in the preparation of porridges, cakes and breads, today cassava in its many different forms, is  an intergral ingredient of Brazilian cuisine. From every fisherman’s home to the smartest restaurants in Rio, a plastic tub of farinha, a rough sawdust-like meal ground from roast cassava roots is spooned over beans, mixed into rice and blended with sauces to make every meal go that little bit further. 

The slender brown tubers of cassava are peeled of their rough skin before their white fiberous flesh is boiled and eaten in the same way we eat potatoes and added to stews; Starchy mashed cassava is used to thicken Bobó de Camarão, a heavy shrimp stew with its roots in the slave trade; Farofa de Manteiga is a dish made from frying the farinha with butter, onion and parsley and is served as a condiment with almost every meal in Brazil; The starch extracted from cassava roots is ground into a fine white flour that is used for baking Pão de Queijo a puffy bread roll made with fresh cheese that is found in every bakery in Brazil while the unground chalk-white beads of starch become what we know as tapioca.  But my simple favorite were the strips of cassava root deep-fried and eaten like chips and sold by street vendors. Here is a recipe I picked up on the road when cycling in Brazil that will let you celebrate national chip week with a difference.

Makes enough chips for four.

• 2 large cassava/yucca roots
  
• 1 cup of vegetable oil
  
• salt 
  
• ground pepper
  

1.  Peel the cassava/yucca and chop and slice into chunky chips. It will be hard to slice so take care and be sure to remove the fibrous core that runs the length of the root.

2. Bring a litre of salted water to the boil. Add the cassava/yucca and cook for 30 minutes. Remove and strain until dry. 

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a heavy pan until spitting. Add the cassava/yucca and fry on each side until golden brown on each side. 

4. Remove the chips from the oil and leave to rest on some paper towels. Serve warm sprinkled with salt and cracked black pepper.

How about some chip facts?

Armadillo Stew / Peba Caipira. Northern Brazil

Samba, Bikinis, bottoms, nuts. There were many things I was expecting to find while cycling in Brazil. This recipe was not one of them. While cycling in the dry surrounds of Norther Brazil, between the cities of Belem and Sao Luis, I was lucky or perhaps unlucky enough to try this simple recipe for armadillo stew. A first for me, it took some time for me to realize what I was eating. 

"Que es esso?" 

I asked in my worst Portuguese only for a small boy to hold up a plump and bewildered looking Armadillo.  In Northern Brazil many rural families keep a couple of thesebeast in the garden for special occasion. A tough and gamey meat, it tastes great in this rustic stew. If you cant get hold of an armadillo chicken or pork will do. armoured 

• One whole armadillo, shelled, boned and gutted and cut into chunks
• Juice of four limes
• Cooking oil
• 500ml of chicken stock
• salt and pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic chopped
• a pinch of cumin
• sprig of fresh thyme
• cup of coconut milk
• one large onion
• one small chili, chopped
• 6 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped 
• one can of coconut milk

1. In a little oil sweat the onion in a large pan until translucent. Add the garlic, cumin and chili and continue to heat over gentle heat. 2. Add the armadillo to the pan and turn the meat so each piece so its starts to brown. Pour in the remaining lime juice. Season with salt and pepper. 3. Now add the chopped tomatoes, turn through the meat until it starts to bubble pour in the stock. 4. Once the contents of the pan is simmering away steadily pour in the coconut milk . lower the heat, cover the pot and cook for one hour or until the armadillo is tender. 5. Serve with rice, and a healthy pinch chopped parsley.

• This recipe for armadillo stew will feature in the forthcoming book The Hungry Cyclist. Pedalling The Americas In Search of the Perfect Meal

Vitamina de Abacate, Avocado smoothie. Brazil.

Mexicans make guacamole with them, Colombian's serve them in steaming bowls of sancocho, but here in Brazil avacados are sweetened and served as an energy packed pudding or refreshing juice.

serves 2

• 3 ripe avocados
• 3 limes
• 4 tbs of caster sugar
• 1/4 a cup of water

1. Peel and slice the avocados, discarding the seed. Place fruit, lime juice and sugar in a your blender.

2. Whizz at a high speed until completely smooth. Adding a little water if the mix is stiff . It should be smooth and creamy.

3. Chill for a few hours and serve in a glass with a little ice.

Grilled Chicken Heart Skewers, Brazil.

Impossible to find amongst the shiny shelves of English supermarkets I hadn’t eaten chicken hearts until I arrived here in Brazil. Having never found them in England I’m not sure where to go to buy them but a good place to start would be your local butcher. They incredible tasty and make a great, cheap addition to any summer BBQ.

• 30 chicken hearts. (Makes six skewers)
• A good splash of olive oil
• Chopped fresh Time
• A good splash of Worcestershire sauce.
• Ground salt
• Black pepper
• Long wooden BBQ skewers

1. Wash the chicken hearts of any blood and place in a bowl.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and marinate for a couple of hours while you fire up the BBQ.

3. Slide five hearts onto each long wooden skewer.

4. Grill for two minutes on each side brushing with a little of the marinate.

5. If you want to be truly Brazilian serve with a little Farofa. (see recipe)

Moqueca de Camerao. Bahia, Brazil

• 1 Kilo of. fresh prawns
• The juice of three limes
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped.
• 1 cup of dende oil (red palm oil)
• 1 large green bell pepper, sliced
• 2 onions thinly sliced
• 1 chopped Malagueta Chili pepper
• 3 chopped tomatoes
• Small bunch of cilantro, chopped
• 500 ml of coconut milk

Salt 1. Peel and clean all your shrimps and season with the lime juice, garlic and a few pinches of salt.

2. Add a little dende oil to a medium sized pan and heating gently; sweat your onion, chili and green bell pepper until the onion begins to brown. Now add the chopped tomato.

3. Once the Contents of the pan are simmering nicely add the marinated prawns chopped cilantro mix everything together.

4.Its time now to pour in the coconut milk. Continue to simmer and raise the heat a little to reduce some of the liquid.

5. Now pour in the remaining dende 

oil. Bring to a gentle boil and then lower the heat leaving the contents to summer and reduce for a further ten minutes.

Garnish with a little more chopped cilantro and serve with a bowl of rice and some limes for squeezing.

Cocada. Brazil

Cocada is the fisherman's friend of Brazil. Made from the two ingredients that exist in abundance on Brazil's hot and humid North Eastern Coast it is a high energy mix of sugarcane and coconut. A perfect companion for a week at sea or perhaps a long day on the bicycle. This healthy sweet is the original taste of paradise.

• 1.5 kg grated coconut meat
  
• 1.5 kg sugar
  
• 1 liter of water
  
• 1.5 tps greated ginger
  
• 4 cloves
  
• 2 sticks of cinnamon
  
• Fresh fruit juice can also be added to give a new flavor. Passion fruit is perfect. Add one cup
  

1. Put the sugar and water in a large pan and heat stirring constantly.

2. Once you have a syrupy consistency add the coconut meat and other ingredients and continue to stir.

3. Stir well with a wooden spoon and once nice and sticky pour into shallow tray lined with baking paper.

4. Leave to cool and then and cut into squares.

Enjoy with a cup of strong coffee.

Crab Frigideira. Bahia, Brazil

The frigideira is a traditional samba percussion instrument made of a skillet from the days when everyone played on improvised instruments. 

This tiny little hand held instrument has a piercing tone which cuts across the sound of the other drums in a samba band. The single frigideira is played like a tambourine and is also used to cook traditional one pan treats like this one, a favorite with fishermen in Bahia, Brazil.

This recipes was found while cycling in Brazil in 2007. 

500g of shredded cooked crab meat

1 Tomato, chopped

1 small onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

Samll bunch of spring onions, chopped

Small bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped

4 eggs, separated

1 cup of grated coconut meat

200g of fresh peas

300ml of coconut milk

Olive oil

3 table spoons of flour

Salt

Pepper

1. Preheat your oven to 200 oC

2. In a heavy pan add a good glug of oil and sauté the onions until soft and golden brown.

3. Add the tomato, spring onion, garlic, cilantro, tsp of salt, pepper and sauté some more. Before Adding your crab meat and grated coconut and stir well.

5. Now pour the coconut milk over the cooking crab meat. Cover with a lid and cook until the liquid has reduced.

6. Meanwhile beat your egg whites, with a pinch of salt until they peak. Now fold in your egg yolks and flour until you have a smooth batter.

7. Turn down the heat on the cooking crab mix, pour about third of your prepared batter over the reduced crab and stir well with a wooden spoon.

8. Brush a little oil on the bottom of a deep baking dish. Pour in the crab mixture, cover with the remaining two thirds of egg batter and garnish the top by floating a few slices of tomato and onion on the surface

9. Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until the surface is golden brown.

Leche de Coco. Make your own Coconut Milk

Many of the recipes I have found in Brazil use the magical ingredient of coconut milk.

Tins of this lovely stuff can be found in most supermarkets and are convenient to use and generally of acceptable quality. However, they do not achieve the same quality of flavor as the real thing.

So for those of you who got lucky on the  coconut shy  at the local village fete, here are the instructions for preparing your own coconut milk at home.

How to Preparing Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconuts.

1. With a skewer or large nail pierce the eyes (the three little circles at the base) of a fresh coconut, and drain the liquid inside. (If you have a dicky tummy, drink the coconut water)
2. Take your hammer from the tool shed and crack the coconut so that the shell breaks into several pieces.
3. Using a knife and a strong spoon remove all the coconut meat from the shell, peel off the brown skin and cut the meat into small pieces.
4. Place the meat in a blender, and blend until finely grated and place in a large mixing bowl.
5. Add one cup of lukewarm water to the meat and start squeezing through your fingers to extract the milk. Keep going until the liquid is nice and thick.
6. Place a sieve covered with cheese cloth over a bowl and pour the coconut meat and water into the sieve squeezing handfuls of the coconut meat to extract as much liquid as possible into the bowl.
7. This first batch of milk will be the creamiest but you can repeat the squeezing process again with the same meat and still get some more tasty milk.
8. Refrigerate the coconut milk in the bowl and use within a couple of days.

Hungry Cyclist Photo Slideshow from Brazil.

A picture paints a thousand words and thanks to the clever folk at Flickr.com you can now view a selection of photographs from my last trip pedalling the americas in search of the perfect meal.  Using the screen below you can navigate through the images, or simple sit back and watch the show. To see more photo from my gastronomic trails visit my page at Flickr.com or have a peep at my old website.

Caruru. Bahia, Brazil

An estimated 1.3 million slaves were imported, from West Africa, into Bahia before slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888. These people were to have an immeasurable impact on what Bahia was, and is today. Shipped from Africa in horrendous conditions, the ones who survived the transatlantic trip, were sold and put to work in the regions vast sugar plantations.

Other than a providing a work force for the Sugar Barons, the Africans who were removed from there homes brought culture - music, Religion, artesiania, dance and of course gastronomy. Due to this huge displacement of people, Salvador is the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture in Brazil and its influence is unmissable. At night the colorful city throbs with Afro-Brazilian music that accompanied the interesting smells that waft through the lively cobbled streets.

Here is a recipe for Caruru. A typical Afro Brazilian okra and shrimp stew.

• 1 kilo okra
  
• 1 onion, finely chopped
  
• 2 cloves of garlic
  
• Half a cup of dende oil
  
• 2 cups of water
  
• 1 large knuckle of ginger
  
• 1 cup of cashew nuts
  
• 1 cup of peeled peanuts (unsalted)
  
• Fresh cilantro
  
• 250 grams of fresh shrimp peeled and washed
  
• Salt
  
• Pepper
  

1. Add the garlic, ginger, cashew nuts, peanuts and cilantro to a blender and blend to a smooth paste.

2. Chop the okra into small pieces.

3. In a large pan add a little of the dende oil (red palm oil) and the onion and soften over a gentle heat.

4. Now add the contents of thee liquidizer to the pan and stir well.

5. Add the chopped okra to the pan with two cups of water. Cover and stew on a gentle heat for.

5. After 10 minutes lift the cover and add the shrimp.

6. Stir the contents of the pan well, season to taste, replace the cover and continue to cook for a further ten minutes.

Farofa (toasted manioc flour). Brazil

Toasted manioc flour (farinha de mandioca) is a staple of Brazil. Another product of the multi-purpose yucca root, it is served with most meals and although it looks a little like saw dust it can be very tasty and make a great accompaniment to grilled meat.

 

• 4 tablespoons of butter
  
• 3 cups manioc flour
  
• 1 sprig of chopped thyme.
  
• 1 rashers of good bacon, chopped into small squares.
  

Salt to taste.

1. Melt the butter in a heavy skillet or frying pan.
   
2. Add the chopped bacon and fry until cooked.
   
3.  Add manioc flour and cook over low heat stirring constantly until golden. Sprinkle with salt, to taste.

For more about Brazilian Food in the UK visit Brazilianfoodlove.com

Brigadero with crushed Brazil Nuts

"Brazil. Its where the nuts come from."

Banished for most of the year, with a dusty box of dates in some dark kitchen cupboard it was only at Christmas that I remember the nuts coming out. Hazelnuts, walnuts, almonds and Brazil nuts lay mixed in a large wooden bowl, but once the crackers had been pulled, the turkey finished and tree taken down it always seemed t be the impossibly hard to open Brazil nuts that lay neglected for another year.

I remember looking on with wide eyed marvel as my grandfather placed them into the palm of his hand, before crushing them open while I chanted "do it again, do it again”. But distracted by this bionic feat I sparred little thought to where these hard-shelled nuts actually came from.

A few years later drifting gently on the tranquil waters of the Amazon, the castania trees that line the river bank are unmissible. Pulling into any of the bustling river ports enroot to Belle, women and children wave small bags for sale you can pick up a small bag of this important and delicious Brazilian export.

Her is a recipe your long forgotten Brazil nuts that is named after the renowned Brazilian politician of the 1920's, Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes. They are perfect for children’s parties or as something sweet for bigger people to enjoy with a good coffee after dinner.

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 4-heaped tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 200g of dry crushed Brazil nuts

1. In a heavy saucepan melt the butter and then stir in your cocoa powder until you have a dark paste in the bottom of the pan.

2. Now pour in your condensed milk and stir constantly with a wooden spoon over a low heat.

3. Continue stirring and cooking for between 10-12 minutes. The mix will start to bubble before going a little stiff

4. Once the mix starts to stiffen and divide when you pass your wooden spoon through it leave to cool completely.

5. Butter your hands and roll the mixture into small balls the size of golf balls. Roll each ball in the dried nuts until covered. Place in a paper sweet cup and you are ready to go.