All recipes

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Espetinho de carneGrilled beef skewers

All through Brazilian Carnival, from Salvador's street parties to the blocos of Rio, the smoke of espetinho grills drifts along the pavements, and a skewer of beef with a spoonful of farofa is the snack that keeps revellers dancing all night. Chunks of rump are seasoned with garlic, coarse salt and lime, threaded onto skewers and grilled hard and fast over charcoal. Marinate the beef in the fridge. The common mistake is packing the pieces tightly, which steams them instead of charring. Chef's tip: soak wooden skewers for 30 minutes so they don't burn before the meat is done.

35 min

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Torta capixabaSeafood and palm heart pie

Torta capixaba is the Good Friday dish of Espírito Santo in south-east Brazil, cooked in the region's black clay pans (panelas de barro). Soaked salt cod, crab meat, prawns, palm hearts and olives are cooked with tomato, onion, coriander and annatto, then bound with beaten egg and baked until puffed and golden under a lid of egg and onion rings. It is served hot or warm with rice. Any ovenproof dish works. Chef's tip: fold in the egg whites last and gently, as they give the torta its light, set texture.

105 min

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Afogado do DivinoBeef and potato stew

In São Luiz do Paraitinga in the hills of São Paulo state, the Festa do Divino Espírito Santo at Pentecost ends with a meal for everyone: huge pots of afogado, beef 'drowned' in a rich broth with potatoes, tomato, onion, garlic and herbs, served with pirão (a cassava-flour porridge made from the broth) and rice. Volunteers cook it in the town's kitchens through the night, and anyone who comes is fed. Chef's tip: brown the beef in small batches so it sears rather than stews, which gives the broth its deep colour.

175 min

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Caldo de piranhaPiranha broth

In Cuiabá and Corumbá, on the edge of the Pantanal wetlands of Mato Grosso, caldo de piranha is served in small cups in bars and at riverside festivals, and is said to restore strength (some say more). The bony little fish are simmered with tomato, onion, peppers and annatto, then the flesh is blended into the broth and strained, so it is thick, smooth and savoury. If you can't get piranha, any firm white river or lake fish such as tilapia or catfish works. A bowl gives about 24 g of protein, from the fish, for about 200 kcal. The common mistake is careless straining: piranha has many fine bones, so pass the soup through a fine sieve twice. Chef's tip: finish with a good handful of cheiro-verde, the Brazilian mix of parsley and chives, and a squeeze of lime just before serving.

60 min

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SequilhosCornstarch condensed milk cookies

Brazilian grandmothers keep a tin of sequilhos (seh-KEEL-yos) on the shelf for afternoon cafezinho, and children in São Paulo and Minas Gerais grow up pinching them from it. Made almost entirely from cornstarch, butter and sweetened condensed milk, they bake pale and chalky-looking, then dissolve on the tongue like a cloud of milky sugar. A fork pressed into each ball leaves the classic stripes. This version adds one egg yolk for a little richness; plenty of families leave it out, and the cookies are just as good. Because there is no wheat, they are naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: lift one off the tray after the minimum time and check the base; it should be the faintest cream-gold, not brown, or the melting texture turns sandy.

35 min

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Bolo de coco geladoChilled coconut cake

Wrapped in squares of foil and kept in the fridge of Brazilian padarias and birthday parties, bolo de coco gelado ('cold coconut cake') is a soft white sheet cake drenched while warm in coconut milk sweetened with condensed milk, then buried under grated coconut. Eaten straight from the fridge it is cool, damp and milky, a little like a coconut tres leches but less sweet. It is a favourite for hot afternoons, children's parties and festas juninas, and it actually improves after a night's rest. Pouring the soak over a cold cake is the common mistake; it sits on top in a puddle, so poke the cake while it's still warm and add the soak a ladle at a time. Chef's tip: wrap each square in foil before chilling, the way bakeries do; the coconut stays moist and the squares travel well to a party.

120 min

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Bolo de bananaUpside-down banana cake

Ask a Brazilian what was on the table for café da tarde as a child and the answer is often this: a soft cake turned out of its tin with a glossy layer of caramelised banana and cinnamon on top, eaten with a small strong coffee. Home cooks make it with overripe bananas from the fruit bowl, and many mix the batter in a blender. The crumb is light and moist, the top sticky and fragrant. Eggless versions exist, but this one uses eggs for a springier cake. Cooking the caramel too far is the usual slip: once it goes past amber it turns bitter, so pull the pan off the heat while it is still the colour of honey. Chef's tip: cut the bananas lengthwise rather than into rounds; long slices lie flat in neat rows and don't slide when you turn the cake out.

70 min

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Vitamina de banana (Brazilian banana smoothie)

In Brazil a smoothie is a vitamina, and vitamina de banana is what parents from São Paulo to Recife whizz up for breakfast or when children get home from school hungry. Ripe banana, cold milk and a spoonful of oats make a thick, naturally sweet drink that fills a gap until dinner, so no sugar is needed. It contains milk and gluten (oats, unless labelled gluten free). Chef's tip: use bananas with brown freckles on the skin; they are sweeter and blend creamier than green-tipped ones.

5 min

Brazilian Drinks

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Mané peladoCassava, coconut and cheese cake

On farms around Goiânia and across the Goiás cerrado, mané pelado is the cake for coffee time and for June festivals: raw cassava grated straight into the bowl, mixed with fresh coconut, eggs, sugar and a handful of grated cheese, then baked until the top is deep golden. It is dense, moist and slightly chewy, sweet with a faint salty edge from the cheese. There's no flour, so it is naturally gluten free. Cutting it hot is the mistake to avoid; the starch needs time to set, and warm slices are gummy, so let it cool fully. Use sweet cassava (the ordinary kind sold for cooking), always cooked through; frozen grated cassava works well. The cheese in Goiás is a semi-cured queijo minas; any mild, salty semi-hard cheese works, or a vegetarian alternative. Chef's tip: grate the cassava on the fine side of the grater; coarse shreds stay stringy.

80 min

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Filé à parmegianaBreaded beef with tomato and cheese

Born in the Italian-run restaurants of São Paulo and now a pride of Rio's botecos, filé à parmegiana is served in portions big enough for two, with white rice and chips. Beef fillet is pounded thin, breaded and fried, then covered in tomato sauce and mozzarella and baked until bubbling. It's crisp underneath, gooey on top and very generous. For a vegetarian version, use thick slices of aubergine, salted and patted dry, with vegetarian cheeses. Chef's tip: pound the meat evenly so it fries in the time it takes the crust to turn golden.

50 min

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Bife aceboladoSteak with onions

Ask for a prato feito in any Brazilian lanchonete and there's a good chance the meat will be bife acebolado: a thin, garlicky steak seared hard and buried under soft, golden onions. It sits beside white rice, beans, a little salad and often a fried egg. The onions soak up the pan juices and are half the pleasure. Chef's tip: deglaze the pan with a splash of water after the onions; those browned bits are the sauce.

25 min

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Panqueca de carneBeef-filled pancakes

Brazilian panquecas are thin pancakes, closer to crêpes, rolled around a savoury filling and baked under tomato sauce and cheese, a much-loved weekend lunch for families and a favourite with children. Beef mince filling is the classic, cooked with onion, garlic, tomato and parsley. The vegetarian alternative is spinach and ricotta, made the same way with vegetarian cheeses. Chef's tip: make the pancakes ahead and stack them with baking paper between; they assemble in minutes.

70 min

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Isca de peixeFried fish strips

From the beach kiosks of Rio and Santos to bars by the lakes of the interior, isca de peixe is ordered by the portion to share with friends, eaten with fingers, a squeeze of lime and a little bowl of tartar sauce. Strips of mild white fish get a quick lime-and-garlic seasoning, a dusting of flour and a short fry, so the coating stays thin and crackly while the fish inside stays moist. Chef's tip: keep the lime marinade short, about 15 minutes; any longer and the acid starts to turn the fish soft.

30 min

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Pão doceSweet custard bread

A long, shiny braid of sweet bread with a ribbon of vanilla custard and a sprinkle of coconut down the middle is one of the most familiar sights in a Brazilian padaria, sold by the slice for the late-afternoon coffee break known as the café da tarde. The enriched dough is soft and milky, and the syrup brushed on as it leaves the oven gives the crust its sticky shine. Chef's tip: make the custard first so it is completely cold before it goes onto the dough.

85 min

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Sardinha fritaFried sardines

Rio de Janeiro has a long love affair with sardines, landed fresh at the fishing colony in Niterói across the bay, and a plate of them fried crisp is the thing to order at old-school botequins in the city centre with an ice-cold beer. Small fish are gutted, beheaded and dusted in flour and a little cornmeal, then fried quickly so the thin bones turn crunchy enough to eat. Chef's tip: dry the fish thoroughly before flouring so the oil doesn't spit and the coating stays crisp.

30 min

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Torta de frangoChicken pie

A big rectangular chicken pie cut into squares is one of the most loved savoury bakes at Brazilian padarias and family gatherings, from Minas Gerais to São Paulo, eaten warm for lunch or cold at a picnic. Shredded chicken is cooked in a tomato sauce with sweetcorn and peas, made creamy with requeijão, and baked inside a tender, crumbly butter crust. For a vegetarian version, swap the chicken for sliced hearts of palm, a classic padaria filling, and use a cheese made with vegetarian rennet. Chef's tip: cool the filling completely before it goes into the pastry so the base stays crisp.

100 min

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Peru de NatalChristmas roast turkey

For many Brazilian families the ceia de Natal, eaten late on Christmas Eve, is built around a glossy roast turkey surrounded by farofa, rice and fruit. The bird is marinated for a day in garlic, onion, lime, herbs and dry white wine, then roasted slowly under foil so it stays moist. The marinade traditionally contains wine; for an alcohol-free version swap it for the same amount of unsweetened apple juice with 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar. Chef's tip: trust a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh, not the clock or a pop-up timer.

240 min

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SonhoCustard-filled doughnut

Sonho means dream, and in the padarias of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo these round, sugar-crusted doughnuts split open with a thick vanilla custard are the treat children point to through the glass. They came with Portuguese bakers and are now eaten at any hour, with a cafezinho in the morning or as an after-school snack. The dough is soft and lightly scented with lemon, and frying at a moderate heat gives the pale ring around the middle that bakers look for. Chef's tip: keep the oil at 165 °C so the centres cook through before the outside darkens.

90 min

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Torta de nozesWalnut tart

In the South and in São Paulo, where Italian, German and Portuguese baking traditions meet, a walnut tart is a fixture of the Christmas dessert table, often brought by an aunt who has made it the same way for decades. A crisp, sweet shortcrust holds a filling of chopped walnuts set in condensed milk and eggs, which bakes into a soft, toffee-like caramel. It slices best the next day, so it is a good make-ahead for the busy 24th. Chef's tip: blind-bake the crust until it is properly golden, or the rich filling will leave the base soggy.

95 min

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Bolo de fubáCornmeal cake

On farms in Minas Gerais and the interior of São Paulo, a golden cornmeal cake comes out of the oven most afternoons to go with a strong cafezinho, and it is still the cake grandmothers bake when visitors arrive. Fine fubá gives a soft, slightly grainy crumb with a sweet corn flavour, and a pinch of fennel seed, called erva-doce, adds a gentle aniseed note. It is a blender-and-bowl recipe with no creaming. Chef's tip: keep the oven door shut for the first 25 minutes, as this cake sinks easily.

55 min

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Carne de panelaBeef pot roast

Brazil is the land of the panela de pressão, and nearly every family has a pressure cooker hissing on the stove at weekends. Carne de panela is the dish it was made for: cheap cuts of beef browned with onion, garlic and tomato and cooked until they fall apart, with potatoes and carrots soaking up the gravy. It's eaten across the country with white rice and farofa. Chef's tip: brown the meat in batches until it is really dark; that colour becomes the gravy.

90 min

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Bife à rolêStuffed beef rolls

A favourite for Sunday lunch in Brazilian homes, bife à rolê are thin slices of beef rolled around sticks of carrot, gherkin and smoked bacon, which is pork, then browned and braised slowly in tomato sauce. When you slice through a roll you see a neat spiral, and the sauce is rich enough to spoon over rice or mashed potato. The dish came to Brazil with German and Portuguese settlers and became part of everyday cooking. Chef's tip: secure each roll with two toothpicks crossed in an X so it doesn't unroll as it braises.

100 min

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Frango a passarinhoFried chicken pieces with garlic

Chopped into bite-sized, bird-sized pieces, which is where the name comes from, this fried chicken is the dish Brazilians order by the plate in botecos from Belo Horizonte to Porto Alegre, usually with cold beer and plenty of napkins. The bone-in pieces soak in lime and garlic, are dusted in cornflour and fried until the skin crackles, then are buried under a shower of crisp fried garlic and parsley. Chef's tip: fry the garlic slices on a low heat and pull them out the moment they turn pale gold, as they keep darkening off the heat.

45 min