2 C flour
1/2 C cornstarch
2 t baking powder
1 t finely minced orange or lemon zest (optional, not necessarily authentic)
5 eggs
1-3/4 C sugar
1 C coconut milk
1/4 C powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350F, grease a Bundt or tube pan,  and dust it with flour.

Sift together flour, cornstarch, and baking powder. Stir in the optional zest.

Separate the eggs. In an large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry.

In a medium bowl, stir together the egg yolks and the sugar. Gradually add the yolks and sugar to the egg whites, whisking until incorporated. Stir in about a third of the dry ingredients, then a third of the coconut milk (stir it very well first), and repeat until everything is combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a wooden skewer comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto a rack to finish cooling.

Dust with a couple of spoonfuls of powdered sugar. This will melt and make the cake shiny. If you want a white dusted look, wait until the cake is cool and then dust it a second time with powdered sugar.

1 lime
1 T sugar
1 shot cachaça (the ones in Brazil were so strong, I suspect a “shot” means about 4 ounces!)
Ice

Cut the lime into 4 quarters. Reserve one for a garnish and cut the remaining 3 in half, giving you 6 small wedges. Put them in the bottom of a shaker with the sugar and mash well with the handle of a wooden spoon. Pour in the cachaça, add a handful of ice, and shake. Pour into a glass and garnish with the reserved lime wedge.

Cachaça is common and cheap in Brazil, but expensive and rare in the U.S. You can substitute vodka, and the resulting drink is called a “caipiroshka.” Another choice is to substitute light rum and make a “caipirissima.” I’ve also read that a mixture of half light tequila and half light rum is the closest taste equivalent to cachaça.

Somewhere, I read that the caipirinha was one of Martha Stewart’s favorite cocktails. Who’da thunk it?

For a simple okra side dish based on this recipe, see also Caruru — simple version.

Pronounced ka-roo-ROO, with the stress on the last syllable.

2 T olive oil
2 pounds fresh okra — look for young, tender pods
3 T dried shrimp or ground dried shrimp (available in Oriental markets)
1 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and uncooked
1/3 C roasted peanuts
2 T Brazilian palm oil, known as dende oil (available in Latin markets)
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t chili pepper flakes
Optional: 2 or 3 chopped, seeded tomatoes
3/4 C water
One bunch of cilantro
Salt and pepper

Cut the tops off the okra and chop them into small pieces. The cutting of the ingredients is part of the ritual, so the more people chopping, the better. Heat the olive oil in a skillet and saute the okra for two minutes, until golden. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Finely chop the peanuts, the dried shrimp, and the fresh shrimp and mix them together. The goal is a chunky paste, so you can do this in a food processor if you don’t have enough people chopping.

In a large skillet, heat the dende oil over medium heat. It’s a heavy oil and an acquired taste, so you may choose to use 1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.

Saute the onion, garlic, and hot peppers until golden. If you like, you can add several chopped, seeded tomatoes at this point. Season with salt and pepper and add the shrimp paste. Pour in the water and simmer gently for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the reserved okra and heat through. Chop the cilantro leaves and sprinkle them over the top. Serve with rice, and pass tabasco sauce and toasted manioc flour for the top.

Serves 6 to 8.

1 lb sliced okra, fresh or frozen
2 T olive oil
1 large onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C dried shrimp
1/4 C peanuts
1/4 C cashew pieces
1/2 C water
Diced, seeded tomatoes
Fresh cilantro leaves

Dice the onion finely and saute it in the oil in a large skillet with a lid. When it’s soft and starting to brown, stir in the garlic and the okra. In the food processor (no need to clean it if you’ve just used it for the onion), process the nuts and dried shrimp until they are very finely chopped, almost a paste. Stir this mixture into the pan with the vegetables and add the water. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Garnish with diced tomatoes and cilantro leaves.

When we traveled to Brazil, our friends insisted that we acclimate our digestive systems for a few days before eating this very rich dish. Once they let us order it, though, we couldn’t stop, it was so good. I’ve made this for friends and just used olive oil — it’s not authentic, but it’s still delicious.

Serves 8

2 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 each red, yellow, and green pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
3 cups fish stock or water
14-1/2 oz can coconut milk
Small bunch of green onions, sliced
3 pounds of seafood: White fish in 1-inch pieces, plus scallops and shrimp if you like
3 limes (juice one and cut the others into wedges)
2 T Brazilian dende oil (if you buy African dende, use 1 T plus 1 T olive oil)
1/3 C cilantro, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy skillet over low heat. Saute onion and peppers for 5 minutes, then add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and chiles. Cook for 2 more minutes before adding the fish stock and coconut milk. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender. Add green onions and seafood, cover, and cook for 6 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Add the juice of one lime with the dende oil and cilantro. Simmer for 5 more minutes.

Garnish with lime wedges and serve over fluffy white rice.

In a medium saucepan, simmer the water with 1 C of sugar and the coconut until thickened, about 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. Meanwhile, whip the egg yolks until they become light-colored. Add to the cooled coconut mixture. Stir in the vanilla. Cook, stirring, over low heat for about 5 minutes. Then remove from heat and let cool again.

To assemble, stuff a rounded teaspoonful of the coconut mixture into the center of each prune. Stick a clove into the “eyeball.” Roll the assembled “eyes” in the remaining sugar.

1-2/3 C tapioca flour (available at Asian food stores)
1/4 C sunflower oil
generous pinch of salt
1 egg, beaten
1/3 C yogurt
1/2 to 3/4 C grated hard cheese, like parmesan

Preheat oven to 450 F. Combine oil and salt with 1/3 C water and bring to a boil. Pour over the tapioca and stir to make a crumbly dough. When it cools, stir in the yogurt, cheese, and egg. Drop spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet — you can make 12 large ones or 24 small ones. Turn the oven down to 350 and bake 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

1 C concentrated passion fruit juice (you can find this at stores specializing in Brazilian products)
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 can heavy cream (such as Nestle’s) OR 1 C heavy whipping cream
Optional: 1/2 package Knox unflavored gelatin, softened in water (if it seems too runny)

Blend at low speed in blender, then on high for 1-2 minutes. Add 2-4 T sugar to taste. Pour into individual serving dishes and chill. Garnish with whipped cream.

Serves 4 to 6.

Mango mousse: Mango juice is usually less concentrated than the passion fruit, so you’ll have to use more juice to get a strong enough flavor. In that case, do not leave out the gelatin.

1 C cachaça (you can substitute light rum or even vodka)
1 lime, sliced thinly
1/2 C water
1 t cloves
1 cinnamon stick
Small piece of ginger
3 T white sugar
First, carmelize the sugar in a heavy saucepan. Then very slowly and carefully add the water to deglaze it. Stir in the other flavorings and simmer for a few minutes. Remove from heat and add the liquor. Be careful not to burn your mouth — carmelized sugar is dangerously hot.

Here are a couple of easier versions:

1 C cachaça or rum
1 lime, thinly sliced
1/2 C water
4 cloves
3-inch cinnamon stick
Superfine sugar to taste
Bring to boil, strain and serve.

1 C boiling water
2 T honey
1 t superfine sugar
1 T minced mint
2 cloves
2-inch stick cinnamon
1 C cachaça or rum
Boil everything but liquor for 10 minutes. Strain, add cachaça.

An alternative cold medicine, and probably healthier because it has no alcohol, is my spicy cough and cold remedy

Alternate search keywords: Cachaca, quentao.

Vegetarian feijoada and coconut rice, garnished with roasted peppers, cilantro, and toasted coconut

Like Cuban black beans, feijoada is nothing special to look at. But a visit to Brazil opened my eyes to the colorful presentation of this dish. Consider colorful tablecloths, banana leaves, or the edible garnishes listed at the end of the recipe to liven it up.

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground thyme
2 sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and cut in 1/4-inch slices
1 T dark rum
2 T lime juice
1 large tomato, sliced
2 16-oz cans black beans
Rice
Beautiful, colorful things to garnish: Cilantro leaves, orange slices, lime wedges, grated carrots, grated beets, slices of raw white onion

In a large skillet or dutch oven, saute the onion for a couple of minutes. Add the peppers and garlic and cook until soft. Add the sweet potatoes, spices, rum, and lime juice, and cook until the sweet potato is tender. Stir in the tomato and the black beans and heat through. Serve with rice and garnish with cilantro and orange.