Today is the World Food Day. The date, October, 16th was chosen by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 1945 to prompt reflection on dietary habits and hunger around the world. As the Instituto Brasil a Gosto mission is to bring the Brazilian cuisine back to the daily lives of people (watch our manifesto) we decided to have a special celebration of the date. We asked our followers which recipe, being it for food or drink, they couldn’t live without. We also asked the same question (Facebook e Instagram) to our whole team. Check here their answers and their reasons for it.
Ana Luiza Trajano, our chairwoman, confesses to finding the question rather difficult to anwer. She has chosen the one dish that has aroused her thirst for learning and cooking: roasted piglet. “Back home, whenever the roasted piglet got to the dinner table, the elderly would serve themselves first. Only then did the kids serve themselves and by the time it got to my turn there was only the inner meat. The crunchy skin that I so loved was gone by then. For this reason, when I started cooking I allowed myself a taster as soon as it started sizzling” reminisced Luiza.
Fábio Roldan’s favourite recipe was also a nostalgic one. He is the executive director of the Institute and has elected the beef roulad. “It would be prepared by my grandmother Noêmia and it was the trademark of our gatherings of children and grandchildren round the table” he commented.
The grandparents have been remembered by most of our team while picking their choices. The cook Karina Carvalho thought of her grandmother from Minas Gerais, Maria Conceição, who would bake the most impeccable cornmeal cake ever. Alice Vecchia, responsible for events, says: “I can’t live without arroz carreteiro. I was brought up eating a big pot whenever I travelled to Rio Grande do Sul with my grandmother from my father’s family, Itála. For the chef Thiago Andrade, the shellfish stew taste like childhood holidays on the beach with his Portuguese grandfather, Literio. He fondly remembers harvesting mussels together.
Seafood is also a favourite for the Administrative Director Erika Chou: chassu mussel broth. It reminds me of holidays. At the same time, as I am Chinese, it is something that connects to the cuisine of my origin, which is rich in broths and soups”. Being a legitimate ‘baina’ (from Bahia), the cook Marizete Santos revealed her attachment to steamed mussels. The typical dish from her state has coconut milk and bell peppers.
Bel Moherdaui, our Content Director tells us that in her house there is always Brazilian sprinkles cake. I taught the kids to make it and they always ask for it , especially for birthday parties. The great fun is to substitute the chocolate sprinkles for the coloured ones that leave the dough full of colorful dots.’ she recommends.
What our gastronomy journalist asks for when she visits her family is homemade food. There is nothing more comforting than having minced ground beef and potatoes when you are always on the go with lunches and dinners from famous chefs.
What about you? Which typical Brazilian recipe, whether food or drink, can’t you live without?
