Authentic Brazilian Cuisine – Savory Traditions: From Moqueca to Feijoada

To celebrate the recent arrival of Olivia Mesquita’s book, Authentic Brazilian Home Cooking on ckbk, we asked Brazilian chef and cookbook enthusiast Luciana Corrêa to give her own perspective on the dishes at the heart of Brazilian cuisine—some national favorites, others specific to a particular region. In the first installment of this two-part feature, Luciana looks at the best of Brazil’s savory cooking.

By Luciana Corrêa

If I were to summarize Brazilian cuisine in three words, it would be rich, flavorful, and colorful! 

There are many typical national dishes in this country as well as the others that are more regional. The vast range of this cuisine’s dishes, desserts, and delicacies gives way here to the most famous, the unmissable, and the ones we appreciate most. This selection includes the authentic, soul-nourishing meals found on every Brazilian table - the real food that unites families and defines the national cuisine. 

Each Brazilian dish brings together a combination of foods that interact with each other, complement one another and form a whole. The richness of Brazilian food lies here: in this alchemy of flavors and in the colorful ingredients that bring aromas and sensations. 

Consider the nationally famous feijoada usually served at lunch, is a dish eaten at a party, among friends or with family. It's accompanied by a good caipirinha (the national cocktail, made with lime and the local sugar cane spirit, cachaça). If there's a place to lie down and rest afterward, the scenario is perfect! feijoada is so famous in Brazil that restaurants have established Wednesdays and Saturdays as the official days when it appears on the menus. A complete feijoada consists of: black beans with lots of meats, torresmo (pork crackling), white rice, orange slices, vinaigrette sauce, chili sauce, farofa, and couve (Brazilian-style shredded greens). The farofa served with feijoada is made with onion, garlic, butter and cassava flour, but some add collard greens, and this combination is also very popular. More recently, a sophisticated, finger food version of feijoada has emerged in Brazil, in the form of bolinhos de feijoada (feijoada croquettes), a type of presentation quite common in bars in some Brazilian cities. Another very common and delicious starter served before feijoada is the caldinho de feijão (literally “little black bean soup”). Served in small clay cups and piping hot, the bean broth is garnished with parsley and some people add a touch of cachaça.

Beans form an essential daily duo with rice on every Brazilian table. Accompanied by a salad and a 'mistura' (animal protein), this is considered the typical everyday dish in a Brazilian home. Whether the beans are black, carioca (a type of pinto bean), speckled or some other type depends on the region. I enjoy all the versions, but I usually eat carioca beans, which are the most common in my city, São Paulo. Black beans pair very well with picadinho (beef tips) and pastel de bacalau (fried cod empanadas), suggestions from Authentic Brazilian Home Cooking, but I also love when this duo served with empadão de frango (chicken empanadas) or croquetes (meat croquettes) mentioned by chef Leticia Moreinos Schwarz in The Brazilian Kitchen. We have a regional dish, widely enjoyed in the state of Minas Gerais in the South-east, called tutu de feijão. This consists of beans, thickened with cassava flour and bacon, and is accompanied by rice, a fried egg, and couve. Just as with like feijoada, you may need to find a place to rest after enjoying this dish. Another popular bean dish is baião de dois (rice and beans with jerked beef), a dish typically from the Brazilian Northeast, mixes rice and green beans (feijão de corda) with queijo coalho (a type of cheese), bacon, and dried meat. One of the versions of beans I enjoy the most is in a bean salad—the combinations are varied but the best type of bean to use in a salad is the fradinho (black-eyed bean).

Brazil is a country with continental dimensions and, therefore, with a grand coastline: the cuisine had to reflect this diversity of fish and seafood in its dishes. Fishing in this country is an activity that drives the economy, generates employment, supports riverside populations, and brings an infinity of dishes to the table. One of my favorites is the Moqueca de peixe, a type of fish stew widely consumed in the Brazilian Northeast. Some versions also include shrimp, and there is even a vegetarian version which uses hearts of palm and chickpeas rather than fish. Bahian moqueca (made in the Northeast of Brazil) is prepared using the famous dendê oil (red palm oil) and coconut milk, while Capixaba’s moqueca (from the state of Espírito Santo) is lighter and does not include dendê. Which one is better? The Bahian version definitely wins for me! Widely consumed on the Brazilian beaches is camarão à Paulista (sautéed shrimp with garlic), an appetizer which is the perfect complement to the sun and the sea. When I am on the beach I am always torn between these shrimp and the equally delicious casquinha de siri (stuffed crab shells)—both are delicious. And what about peixe frito, the fish of the day, marinaded in lime and then fried in batter? Coastal restaurants usually serve the catch from local fishermen who go out daily. Simple fried fish is served with the famous rice, beans, and salad. Alternatively, local fish is may also be served with sauces as with Morena Leite’s Roasted cod chunks with tomato confit, sautéed spinach.

The afternoon snack is a cozy tradition, bringing loved ones together around the table and it’s the essence of Brazilian life. For me, there’s nothing better than a warm cake, freshly baked pão de queijo (cheese bread), friends to chat and laugh, a good cup of coffee, with no rush at all. The empadinhas de frango (small chicken pies), which are also very good in vegetarian form when made with hearts of palm, are great options to serve as part of this afternoon meal.

I can’t help also mentioning a few sweet dishes for afternoon tea (see the forthcoming second part of this feature for more). The famous brigadeiros (small round chocolate sweets, rolled in sprinkles) a good choice, and this scaled-up version is an incredible dessert to make when hosting visitors. Palha italiana (chocolate and cookie fudge which “despite the name…is 100-percent Brazilian”) is a delicacy that is easy to make and hard to stop eating. The guava, a fruit native to Brazil, is present in many of the nation’s recipes such as these biscoitinho de goiabada (guava paste cookies)—a perfect snack to eat with a good cup of coffee.

Brazilian cuisine it also touched by the many peoples who have come to this country and who still play an important role in today. So as well as being rich, flavorful and colorful, Brazilian cuisine is also multicultural. 

The Italian people, the Portuguese, the Japanese, the Lebanese and many more, each represent significant influences reflected in Brazilian cuisine. For example, Olivia Mesquita’s nhoque de banana da terra com carne seca, unites plantain with jerked beef (both widely used ingredients in Brazil) to create a local take on Italian gnocchi. Another great contribution from a different culture to Brazilian cuisine comes in the arroz de bacalhau (salted cod rice) which draws on Portuguese traditions. The Japanese are one of the largest immigrant populations in Brazil and São Paulo-style yakisoba is a great example of the blend of Brazilian and Japanese flavors known as Nikkei. American culture is also present in Brazil—here in my home, in São Paulo, Friday night is hamburger night—and this Picanha Burger with Green Milk Mayo makes excellent use of local ingredients, while this variation on kibbeh, unusual in being made with sausage, is an shows the culinary influence from Syria and Lebanon.

Talking about Brazilian cuisine makes me recall my childhood, my grandmothers' house, family trips, and a time when food was seen both as a source of pleasure and for nourishment. It is also reminds me of the countless influences from other cultures that color our dishes with such distinct flavors and aromas, and have been naturally incorporated into our local cooking—like this amazing guava soufflé. I am reminded of the time I went to the fisherman’s house in Ilhabela to buy the fresh fish he had just caught in order to cook grilled flounder for my family. And also I appreciate the things I do every week: buying vegetables from Vivian—the woman who harvests them on her farm in the interior of São Paulo, waiting for the truck with the freshest farm eggs to arrive at Sergio's market, and sending orders to João (the strawberry man) who personally picks and delivers the freshest berries for my cakes.

So I invite you to gather your loved ones around the table—maybe lay out a beautiful tablecloth, perhaps light a few candles. Look for fresh, colorful ingredients from your favorite supplier; a vibrant salad is always a good place to start. I love when there is some fresh basil pesto in the salad, I don’t know why it makes me happier. Then, browse through the tempting recipes here on ckbk, the ones that make your eyes sparkle—I already know which one I’ll choose. Oh yes, definitely my favorite one and if I can choose the best mushrooms for that dish... Prepare them with care, with time, with attention to detail. After all, have you ever heard that—we also eat with our eyes? The result will be amazing!

Featured recipes

View the full collection

More ckbk features