A Taste of Brazil

Brazil is home to a vibrant and exotic culture that is express through traditions and cuisine. Being Brazilian, my family has embraced this and these values have been transplanted from our roots in Recife, Brazil to our home. This can be seen in the dish known as Paella do Rio Grande do Sul, a simple and attractive entrée comprised of rice, meat, and vegetables.

Over time rice and meat has become an essential part of the Brazilian diet. In Brazil fresh ingredients are purchased from vendors in street markets commonly known as feiras, similar to farmers markets or Pike Place. As for myself, Whole Foods offered the same ingredients without the experience. It would not be uncommon for all of the vegetables and spices used in this meal to be purchased in a feira. However, the meat used in this dish would be bought elsewhere as meat cannot legally be sold in a feira.

Paella do Rio Grande do Sul is made with pork, chicken, sausage, onions, garlic, tomato extract, rice, tomatoes, red, green, and yellow bell peppers, parsley, and scallions (Cuza 187). When in the final stages of cooking where all of the ingredients are cooking in the same pan, I knew the dish was done by the peppers as the author stated "the peppers should be crunchy but not raw" (187). When the bell peppers became crunchy I knew the meal was
finished and served in a wide-serving dish as they would in Brazil.



Trough this meal I was reminded of my family's background and the differences and similarities in Brazilian and American cuisine. What Americans and Brazilians eat may be different, but the way it is made is similar. Upon this realization I began to wonder: why is culture reflected in what we eat?                

Cuza, Sandra. "Meat." The Art of Brazilian Cooking. N.p.: Pelican, 2012. 186-87. Pint.