makanandcomida

Carnival came to an end yesterday with the last 37! parades playing and dancing in the streets of Rio. Altogether Rio had 425 street blocos – single band parades performing in the different neighborhoods in the last 4 weeks. It was great fun but exhausting and it seems everybody is needing a 11-month rest to start all over again afresh. A couple of people mentioned that the year only is starting today, Monday after the last parades.

The winner of the overall Sambadromo where the 13 best samba schools in Rio presented their people, costumes and carnivals fleets last weekend over two nights, was announced last week and is Unidos da Tijuca the third oldest Rio samba school established in 1931. It is the school which traditionally pays most homage to Brazil’s background as a Portuguese colony and has been extremely strong in recent years and viewed as one of the most creative and daring schools.

This year’s runners-up were Salgueiro in second place, Vila Isabel in third, Beija-Flor, last year’s winner in fourth, Grande Rio in fifth and Portela on sixth place. The top six schools performed again at the Sambódromo last Saturday at the Parade of Champions.

Recipe for monkfish on warm white bean salad for two

• 500g of canned, drained white beans
• 2 tomatoes, skin removed and deseeded cut into fine cubes
• 1 onion diced
• 2 cloves of garlic pressed
• 1 red chili finely diced
• 100g of bacon in cubes or diced chorizo
• fresh thyme and parsley
• dash of balsamic vinegar
• 400 g of monkfish fillets or other firm white fish
• 100ml of white wine
• butter
• olive oil

Yes we do miss asian food and the amount and frequency of beans and rice one can take is limited. So I took the kids for another try of a chinese restaurant in Copacabana that got recommended to us as being truly chinese – Chon Kou at Avenida Atlantica 3880. The location is great as you can overlook Copacabana beach while you feast:

I think we were about the only long-noses between all chinese customers in the whole restaurant which we took as a good sign for the quality of real chinese food. We started with fried won-tons and pickled cucumbers which were both delicious, followed by fried rice, mixed noodles and chicken with mushrooms and bamboo.

Even though we missed our all-time favorite steamed dim sums we had a great lunch – definitely a place to go back to.

Recipe for beetroot chorizo pasta for 2

• 200g of pasta
• 1 large or 2 smaller beetroots, skinned and diced into small cubes
• 100g of chorizo, preferably spicy
• 1 red chili finely diced
• 1 onion diced
• 2 cloves of garlic pressed
• 100g of rocket leaves
• white wine
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• balsamic vinegar
• grated parmesan

Heat oil in a pan and fry the onions, chili, garlic for a couple of minutes. Add the chorizo and beetroot and fry on low heat for about 10-15 minutes until beetroot slightly soft. Add the rocket and a dash of white wine. When the rocket is wilted season with balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Add the boiled and drained pasta and divide on 2 plates. Drizzle with olive oil and top with grated parmesan. Easy weekday pasta!

Just got back from my first live attendance at the absolutely breathtaking carnival parade at the Sambadromo, where the 13 best samba schools in Rio present their people, costums and carnivals fleets under a motto. Even though the mottos are known in advance, the set up of the wagons and the costumes are a well kept secret just being revealed once the show starts.

I’m sure you all have seen transmissions of the samba parade in TV and at least I assumed that the vast majority of the people taking part in the show would look like this drop dead gorgeous looking women:

but no there are loads of men, mostly half naked as well:

as well as anybody it seems between the age of 6 and 99 that manages the length of the Sambadromo, is willing and able to pay for one of the 100s of different costumes and has the patience to wait until it is his or her turn which can last up to 9 hours.

The fleet decorations were absolutely amazing too and so full of detail and phantasy:

And for the clean up session between the different school even the garbage workers were doing the Samba!

I left after my favorite for this years competition and last year winner Beija-Flor finished performing at 6 am. There was still one more school to come but the fireworks started to welcome sunrise – truly a night to remember!

At a Thursday night reception I came across this fabulous caipirinha menu

combining mango, ginger, lemon grass, sugar and cachaca for a spicy version as well as strawberry, passionfruit and rose pepper for a pinkish one. Definitely both worth trying and I will try repeating them on a next occasion. The way the caipirinha bar was mounted as well was stunning:

On our first cooking get together yesterday we cooked up a storm of traditional english pub fare:

as well as learning Lynda’s as she calls it get out of jail chocolate dessert.

Recipe for Lynda’s chocolate dessert for 4-6

• 250-300ml of cream
• 4-6 cinnamon sticks
• 200g of dark chocolate (around 80%)

Heat the cream with the cinnamon sticks to low simmer, remove from heat and allow to stand for about 1 hour for cinnamon aroma to infuse the cream. Strain to remove sticks and bring back to heat. Add the chocolate pieces to the cream and allow to fully melt and combine. Pour the mixture into small serving bowls or glasses and cool in fridge for at least 2 hours. Serve garnished with a cinnamon stick or some orange peel.

Brazilian Valentine’s day (Dia dos namorados) was not celebrated yesterday but will rather be on June 12th, one day before the Saint Antonio’s day on June 13th. Saint Antonio is the marriage saint when traditionally many single women perform rituals (simpatias), in order to find a good husband or boyfriend.

So no business for flower shops or chocolatiers, but anyhow everybody is too busy with carnival to think about anything else!

We still had a Valentine’s dinner – no reason to to celebrate!

Recipe for red wine radicchio risotto with beef medallions for 2

• 400g of beef medallions
• 200g of Arborio rice
• 1 head of radicchio cut into strips
• 2 clove of garlic pressed
• 1 white onion finely cut
• 150-200ml of red wine
• 1 liter of hot vegetable stock
• olive oil
• 50g of butter
• 2tbs grated parmesan
• salt and pepper
• fresh flat leaf parsley

Heat a little olive oil in a pot, add the onion and garlic and allow to soften for some minutes. Add the radicchio and rice and fry for a couple of minutes constantly stirring. Add the red wine and stir until evaporated then slowly adding the hot stock in batches each time stirring until absorbed. Continue for about 15 minutes until nearly all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, add the butter and parmesan and garnish with some fresh parsley.

Serve with grilled beef medallions and a good red wine.

This was another weekend very much under the motto of carnival. Even though the Military Police and Fire Brigades had called for a strike in the State of Rio and safety concerns for the parades emerged, the weekend turned out to be a peaceful one with tens of thousands taking to the streets to cheer their favorite blocos (bands).

Each bloco has its one song that will be repeated throughout the parade as well as their own t-shirts – colorful designs with the name of the bloco and lots of supporters are buying them to wear for the parade.

This one here is not wearing a costume though, but is one of the numerous xixi or pee walkers, belonging to the city cleaning brigades, prepared to fine anybody urinating in the streets as well as with some disinfection on hand!

Friday night we went out to a fabulous champagne and bubbly bar in Rua Babina in Botafogo called Ovelha Negra, meaning black sheep.

They serve hundreds of different Proseccos, Champagnes and bubblies from various corners of the world and offer as well small dishes such as cheese platters and sandwiches to go with it. The event was organized by InterNations a network of expats and locals around the world and a great opportunity to meet new people. Definitely a place to go back to.

Recipe for endive and blue cheese salad as a starter for 4 or as a main accompanying a grilled beef filet for 2

• 400g endives, cut into rings
• 150g plain yogurt
• 100g soft and strong blue cheese crumbled
• 1 clove of garlic pressed
• juice of 1 lime
• salt and pepper
• 2tbs of walnuts crumbled

Mix the yogurt, cheese and garlic. Season with lime juice salt and pepper. Toss in the endives just before serving and garnish with the walnuts.

A delicious salad to go with a grilled steak or as part of a bbq buffet or as we had it last night as a light dinner with a cheese board.

Yesterday I joined a group of women for chinese lunch at the Chinese Cultural Association in Rio. The place is located in the neighborhood of Tijuca, not one normally known for culinary highlights. But this one clearly is one.

The Associação Cultural Chinesa do Rio de Janeiro in Rua Gonçalves Crespo 450, in Tijuca, caters mainly for the chinese community but anybody is warmly welcomed. It counts about 800 members and has been opened since 1984.

We had delicious Peking duck, a dish you should order two days in advance to allow for the long preparation process (Tel 2293-2653) as well as  various steamed greens. The menu is large, ranging from fresh fish dishes, to pork, beef, seafood to rice and noodle dishes. The famous dim sums can be chosen as starter or part of a larger buffet to share. The drink menu is as large, offering caipirinhas, brazilian and chinese beers as well as plum and rice wines alongside traditional wines and non-alcoholic beverages.

I just regret getting to know about the place too late to attend this years chinese new years celebrations, that were held here two weeks ago, to welcome the year of the dragon. Next year a must!

Recipe for spicy prawn pasta for 2

• 200g spaghetti
• 500g peeled and cleaned medium sized prawns
• 2-3 red chilis finely diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic pressed
• 2-3 spring onions finely diced
• 10 baby tomatoes halved
• juice of 2 limes
• 1 buch of rocket or bay spinach
• olive oil, salt and pepper
• coriander
• 2 tbs grated parmesan

The last two evenings we had the privilege to spend wonderful time over dinner with two  artists that have made Rio their home a long time ago. Dirceu makes individually crafted jewelry and all his pieces are one-of-a-kind gems. He has shown his pieces in numerous exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland and Brazil.

Besides the jewelry, he as well is a great painter and his latest passion is creating wonderful kinetic objects or mobiles. Please check his website http://www.dirceukrepel.com  or his facebook page Dirceu Krepel to see all his pieces of art.

His wife Marianne is a sculptor and creates beautiful art pieces in clay and bronze as well as exquisite plates and bowls. Apart from that she is a great cook and wonderful hostess. You can find her on facebook as well under Marianne Krepel.

Recipe for salmon tatar with wasabi yogurt as a starter for 4

• 400g freshest salmon filet cut into tiny cubes
• 1-2 spring onions very finely chopped
• juice of 1-2 lemons or limes
• salt and pepper
• 200g of full fat yogurt ideally greek yogurt
• 1tbs of wasabi paste
• crackers for serving

Mix the salmon cubes with the spring onions and marinate in the lime juice for about 1 hour in the fridge, season with salt and pepper. place on serving plates. Mix the wasabi paste and the yogurt and drizzle over the salmon. Serve with crackers

The other day I came across this two locksmith – the one advertising that he is a “have all locksmith – chaveiro tem tudo”, and it is amazing what he is able to fit into his small booth in Ipanema:

and yesterday I found this mobile locksmith working out of his car parked in Copacabana with everything he needs fitted into the back of his tiny pickup:

This is a brilliant way to offer your services I think. I will keep my eyes open for more!

Recipe for warm beetroot-lentil salad with chorizo and grilled goats cheese for 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course

• 200g lentils
• 1 large or 2 smaller beetroots, skinned and cut into small cubes
• 1,5 litres of vegetable stock
• 3 spring onions finely chopped
• 1 bunch of rocket leaves
• small handful of walnuts
• 1 red chili deseeded in finely chopped
• balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper
• 100g of spicy chorizo in small cubes
• 200g of goat cheese cut into rounds
• balsamic glaze

Bring the stock to a boil and add the lentils and beetroots for about 30 minutes or until slightly soft. Drain and allow to cool a little. Mix with the spring onions, rocket leaves, walnuts and chili and season with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Distribute on 2 or 4 plates.

In a hot pan fry the chorizo for some minutes until crisp. Add the goats cheese and fry until browned on both sides. Place on the lentil beetroot mixture, drizzle with balsamic glaze and serve immediately.

Yesterday we participated in our first street carnival parade in Rio. Originally coming from the german region of Cologne/Bonn, I’m nothing new to carnival and have participated intensely in numerous carnival shows, parades and parties – but what a difference! In Germany due to plain winter, street carnival always means to put on as many clothes as possible to witness the decorated wagons, horses and groups of people passing. Here people take of as many clothes as possible or come right from the beach to witness the bloco/group performing.

In german carnival they throw sweets, flowers and little toys from the wagons whereas we threw confetti and paper snakes at the parade.

I was expecting a parade of a number of wagons and performances but the whole parade was one band and all the followers walking and dancing in front and behind them.

But as there will be lots of more blocos and parades over the next 2 weeks I will continue to follow the similarities and differences!

Recipe for chicken tonnato as a starter for 4

I love vitello tonnato and always order it, if I find it on a menu in an italian restaurant. But it is sinfully rich and difficult to always come by veal that you need for the original recipe. So I came up with this easy version using chicken and replacing the mayonnaise by a lighter tuna sauce.

• 500g chicken breast
• 1l chicken stock
• 1 can tuna in water
• 50ml light cream
• 2tbs capers
• salt, pepper
• 1 lime
• parsley to garnish

Bring the chicken stock to boil and simmer the chicken breasts until done. Allow to cool a little and cut into very thin slices, placing them on a serving dish in a single layer. Mix the tuna, cream and a little chicken stock until you have a smooth consistency and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken, garnish with capers, parsley and slices of lemon or lime.

Great guild free way to enjoy this winning combination.