4 Brazilian Dinner Recipes

In his kitchen in downtown Dallas, chef Junior Borges reaches for a bottle of dende oil. He slowly pours the crimson liquid from African oil palms into the pot containing the moqueca. As the iconic Brazilian fish stew simmers on the stove and the oil warms, a pungent smell fills the air and Borges’s expression becomes visibly satisfied. “If I’m going to represent Brazil, I have to be true to the country,” he says. “For me, nothing symbolizes my upbringing and culture more than the moqueka.”

More than 20 years ago, Borges pioneered a classic and expansive approach to Brazilian cuisine in the United States that elevated the country’s African history and has remained so ever since. As a result of the transatlantic slave trade, people of African descent make up more than half of Brazil’s population, and African influences are integral to and intertwined with Brazil’s national cuisine. Across Brazil, African vegetables such as yams and okra have become mainstays in Brazilian kitchens. .

Borges is from Mimoso do Sul, north of Rio de Janeiro, but like many Afro-Brazilians, his family roots (through his grandmother) are in the Brazilian coastal state of Bahia, where around 80% of the population is black or multiracial. . During Portuguese colonization, many enslaved people were forced to work on sugar plantations. Many of Bahia’s most beloved dishes can be traced directly to West Africa, such as acarage, black-eyed pea fritters stuffed with shrimp and spicy paste, a direct descendant of West African acarra. Bahia is also the birthplace of moqueca, which has become synonymous with Brazilian cuisine, bubbling furiously to the vibrant heartbeat of the country’s black diaspora. Borges’ grandmother always served the stew with farofa, the crunchy toasted cassava served with most meals. Today, Borges does the same with his own version of her. This is part of his ongoing mission to honor his family and heritage while incorporating elements of his experience cooking around the world. “I started bridging these two things of his,” he says. “And I tried to figure out, ‘How can I express her girlfriend, but also express her own opinion?'” he says.

Borges, who grew up in Brazil, explored Brazilian and French cuisine at restaurants in Rio de Janeiro. These dishes, along with the Bahian cuisine he enjoyed at home, formed the basis of his culinary education. After he moved to New York City in 1999, he began working in bar and restaurant kitchens, and every week he visited the Barnes & Noble on the Square to read and research the cookbooks there. He eventually attended French culinary school and worked at a number of high-end restaurants in New York (including 2010 F&W Best New Chef, Missy Robbins’ A Voce) before moving to Dallas in 2014 to become the restaurant’s chef. I served as the opening executive chef. Our outpost. Borges is based in Dallas, where he spent his culinary career, and most recently at the Meridian, where he centered his personal approach to Brazilian cuisine on the menu.

Borges transcends the restrictive expectations that often lock Brazilian chefs into cookie-cutter steakhouse careers and instead celebrates Bahian cuisine, Brazilian cuisine, and the flavors of the world. His picanha, a flavorful cut of beef popular in Brazil, satisfied the hungriest Texas meat lovers during his time in Meridian. Here, the grilled roast is topped with piri piri sauce. He sources local meat to reimagine feijoada and uses tapioca to make pan de queijo, Brazil’s irresistible cheesy ball-shaped bread, chewier. Espetinhos de Queijo de Collho, a snack of cheese on skewers grilled over coal, sold by a vendor along the scenic shores of a Brazilian beach, is the inspiration for his grilled cheese. It is the source. To that end, Borges channels his childhood memories into snacks of puffed cheese drizzled with hot, garlicky honey infused with Thai chili peppers and coriander. The Brazilian esophagus is a canvas for Borges to experiment and evolve, coloring it with the different flavors and techniques he has accumulated over the course of his career.

Borges left Meridian late last year to start his own hospitality group, which he hopes will be the springboard for his future in the Brazilian restaurant business. This brings him into the small but growing ranks of Black Brazilian chefs who are empowered by their heritage and want to share another side of their Black identity. Although there are not many Afro-Brazilians in the United States, people within the community find each other. And for Borges, home and heritage remain at the forefront when considering his next venture. The Dallas father of three tries out a spoonful of moqueca with a dish towel slung over his shoulder, then lets his young daughter, Maia, receive hers as she gestures for a taste. Old and new flavors blend harmoniously, reminding him that he is exactly where he is supposed to be.

Junior Borges’ Brazilian Pantry

cassava flour

Cassava flour, known as farinha de mandioca, is made from grated, pressed, dried and crushed cassava (also known as yuca). Flour is toasted with salt, spices, and often smoked meat to create farofa, a crumbly, crunchy flour that resembles lightly powdered breadcrumbs. Farofa is a side dish that is a staple on kitchen and restaurant tables throughout Brazil. In Bahia, it is not uncommon to enjoy farofa toasted with dendé oil. This gives it a deeper, slightly nuttier flavor than other variations. A cousin of the West African garri, which is also derived from the cassava root, farofa is an essential part of Brazilian cuisine, making it a satisfying traditional addition to hearty dishes, for example on top or alongside a meaty feijoada or moqueca. This is a great combination (recipe p. 110).

malagueta chili

Malagueta chili peppers are about 2 inches long, similar to bird’s eye or Thai chili peppers, and are widely used in Brazil. Although it is available fresh, it is most commonly preserved, and large jars of crimson chiles are often found in Brazilian bars and restaurants. Borges always keeps a few jars of peppers on hand to add to hearty stews and soups. “You can also use spiced and sour brine in a variety of dishes,” he says, noting that if you need just the right amount of heat, just adding a few drops of brine to your dish can help.

dende oil

The pungent, burnt red-orange color of dende oil enlivens almost any Afro-Brazilian dish. Native to Africa, the Dendezeiro palm tree produces small fruits that produce a scarlet oil. Some historians say the palm tree may have arrived in Brazil with enslaved Africans as early as the 1500s. What is known for sure is that by the 1600s, this palm oil was an important part of Bahia’s rapidly growing religious and culinary culture. It is considered a food staple prepared as an offering to the orishas, ​​Bahia’s religious gods, and is also used in the area’s most famous dish, moqueca stipple, or stuffed with seafood. It is equally considered essential for adding vibrancy and depth to akaraje, black-eyed pea fritters.

cheese

One bite of pan de queijo, Brazil’s heaven-sent cheese bread, and it’s easy to see why cheese is a key component of this country’s greatest culinary contribution. In Borges’ kitchen he has two staples. Queijo curds (literally “cheese curds”) are chewy, chewy-textured cheeses used in the aromatic, smoky Grilled Beech Cheese. The other is Katupilly, a creamy cheese with a smooth texture. In addition to stuffed pan de queijo, there are also pizzas, crepes, and coxinhas, a fried Brazilian snack stuffed with chicken.

tapioca

Tapioca is a natural gluten-free starch obtained from compressed cassava juice. There are two main types: sweet tapioca flour (Polvilho Doce), which is a fine powder made from raw fruit juice, and sour tapioca flour (Polvilho Azedo), which is made from fermented fruit juice and has a tangy flavor. Borges uses sweet tapioca flour to make rice sushi de tapioca, a light and fresh crepe that the chef describes as “one of the most indigenous elements of the cuisine.” Beiju de tapioca can be stuffed with fillings such as chocolate, cheese, and even eggs, and Borges prepared it for his daughter, making it a popular quick meal among the Brazilian diaspora. This is similar to other popular tapioca-based dishes such as pan de queijo, which Borges makes using both sweet and sour tapioca.