VEGETARIAN FOOD TRAVELS
Victorious Vegetarian Adventures in Brazil
The delectable diversification of traditional Brazilian food
As some of my followers may know, I am in Brazil at present and will be here for two months visiting friends in the states of São Paulo and Santa Catarina.
As some may also know, Brazil is relatively meat-centric when it comes to cuisine and carne is present in many of the country’s dishes.
It can be gleaned from the title of this article that I am a vegetarian and have been fortunate enough to spend my first two weeks in the country with Brazilian friends who are also vegetarian. This stroke of luck has enabled me to be introduced to local food through the eyes of those who know how to keep traditional flavours alive in dishes transformed into vegetarian masterpieces.
To say that I have been on a gustatory magic carpet ride is an understatement. I thought that travelling through Turkey would have been the zenith of my taste sensations but I was indeed wrong.
The people in this vibrant country know how to make incredible food!
Feijoada
Brazilian Feijoada is a black bean and meat stew, usually made with beef and pork, and every Brazilian will tell you that it is the national dish of the country. It can be found in every restaurant and every home and the locals' eyes light up like the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center when they talk about it.
My friend, Juciano, who has learned a lot about cooking from his mother and who is an excellent cook himself, made me vegetarian feijoada on my third day in Itatiba, a municipality of the city of Campinas north of São Paulo city.
Instead of beef and pork, he substituted two types of mushrooms and the taste was incredible. The interplay of the feijoada, the red and brown rice, roasted carrots and tomatoes, and the couve (collard greens) was magnificent and I sat savouring every mouthful.
You may have noticed that there is one more item on this plate that I have yet to mention, farofa.
Farofa
Farofa is a staple in Brazil and is available in every restaurant and at almost every meal, akin to the availability of ketchup or mustard in American restaurants and homes.
It’s a condiment made from toasted cassava flour and recipes may vary. Some are toasted in butter or different types of oil, usually with garlic and onions as a base and then the additions are made until the mixture is golden brown.
Some additions contain chopped meat, some contain raisins, nuts, or bananas.
The farofa above was served in a restaurant but it was Monique, my friend’s wife, who made the best farofa I have tasted thus far.
In addition to the standard cassava flour, onions, garlic, and oil, she added dried chimichurri which can contain parsley, oregano, cumin, basil, salt, as well as some soy protein that tastes like bacon to give it the smoky taste that farofa is often known for.
Farofa is served alongside the main course and is spooned generously onto diners’ plates, being added to each bite according to individual tastes.
Moqueca
Traditionally, moqueca is a seafood stew and is typically made with a base of tomatoes, onions, garlic, lime, coriander, and dende oil (palm oil) with shrimp or fish added as the main ingredients.
It is made in a strong clay pot and brought to the table still simmering, the ingredients stewing in the juices.
In this vegetarian adaptation, the moqueca pictured above replaced the seafood items with banana da terra (plantains), which were browned in their own pot before being added to the delicious stew — and when I say delicious, I mean it. This meal was exquisite!
The vegetarian version also contained coconut milk, creme de leite (table cream), and sweet red peppers.
Moqueca is served with side dishes of rice, French fries (yes, I couldn’t believe it either), and of course, you guessed it… farofa.
Cachorro Quente (Brazilian Hot Dogs)
Brazilian hot dogs may be unlike any other hot dog you have seen and they are loaded to the hilt!
The sausages are cooked in a tomato-based sauce and can be covered with a variety of toppings depending on the vendor and the region of Brazil.
After admitting that I hadn’t tasted cachorro quente yet, Evelyn, my friend’s sister-in-law, kindly invited me to her house last night and provided me with yet another amazing taste sensation.
She used a crispy bun and smeared the inside with regular and garlic mayonnaise as well as creamy mashed potatoes (a completely normal part of a Brazilian hot dog). She then put in the vegetarian sausage covered in tomato sauce followed by heaping spoonfuls of corn and topped with shoestring potato sticks, also a staple of the unique hot dog combo.
She then squeezed a generous amount of ketchup and mustard on top and although I am not a fan of ketchup I have to admit that the combination of these flavours as well as the crunchiness of the shoestring potato sticks was out of this world.
Açaí
Açaí is a staple in Brazil and has been so for at least a decade. You can find açaí vendors selling the ice cream-like variation of the berry on almost every street.
There are many toppings to choose from but it seems that granola and banana are the two most common.
As I love granola and bananas, I added some chocolate powder to this superfood power punch after ziplining down the second-longest zipline in the world — two kilometres.
The crunchy granola added texture to the sweetness of the berries and I found myself digging down further into the cup to add spoonfuls of banana to the delectable treat.
The Best Vegetarian Burger I Have Ever Had!
Yes, I know that veggie burgers are not traditional Brazilian fare but this one is worth mentioning!
My friend Juciano started telling me about the incredible vegetarian burgers at Mistura Divina in Morungaba weeks before my arrival in Brazil. Whilst I am eight years into vegetarianism and have eaten plenty of veggie burgers during this time, and had no reason to doubt him, I expected just another good plant-based burger.
I was not prepared for the freight train of delight that hit my tastebuds.
All burgers at Mistura Divina are named after cartoon characters and my “Smurf” burger was no different. Having had a childhood filled with Smurf figurines, I was happy to sink my teeth into the plant-based burger on a bed of lettuce and tomato, smothered in a mushroom ragu and cheese, all wrapped in an “Australian” bun which had a simple sweetness to it.
Squeezing homemade mayonnaise from the sauce packet pictured above onto each bite made everything come together in an explosion of flavour that I may remember until my dying day… well, maybe I’m being a tad overly dramatic but it was THAT good!
I can honestly say that I am yet to eat something I don’t like here in Brazil. Thank God there are many hills to climb when walking anywhere as my calorie intake has been significantly higher over the past two weeks, and my middle-aged waist is bearing the brunt of most of it!
Lindo maravilhoso!
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