Anatomy of a Brazilian lunch…

Since I arrived a week ago, I have been treated daily to the culinary arts of Maria da Penha. Here’s a picture of her with the kids  at Pão de Açucar on Monday.I decided to take a few shots of lunch today as it certainly merits special mention. It is also a very typical Brazilian meal (in Rio at least) and I thought a brief dissection might be interesting.Firstly, the entire meal was prepared by Penha. To say she is a cook would be like calling Frank Lloyd Wright a homebuilder. She is a culinary artist of the highest caliber. I’ve never eaten so many consecutive meals that are absolutely perfect.

Like in most parts of the world, every proper Brazilian meal is built around meat, chicken or fish. In B’s family, beef tends to win the day. Today, Penha pan fried a humble cut of roast beef stuffed with Portuguese linguiça. My mouth is watering as I type even though I am uncomfortably full after stuffing myself a few minutes ago (a daily ritual).Virtually every meal except breakfast in Rio includes rice and beans; black beans in Rio. Penha simply makes the best beans anyone in our family has ever eaten. In other less evolved parts of the country (like São Paulo), they actually eat brown beans. My pity is somewhat attenuated by a sincere belief that they will someday set a higher standard for themselves. But enough bean religion.Most meals also include a salad. At our house, it might be a green salad with grated carrots, olives and mango. Today, it was a pasta salad with grated carrots, ham and raisins. The salad by itself would have been an excellent meal.To round out this embarrassment of riches, Penha often makes farofa. This fried manioc flour flavored with greens and linguiça was an acquired taste for me but is now indispensible with Penha’s beans.The fact is we eat like this every day. I’m thinking about calling Air France to see if they’ll make a deal on an extra seat on the flight back. At this rate, is is not at all obvious that I’ll fit into a single seat (or even row) but still have a few weeks to pull the trigger if necessary. I think I’m just kidding.

For dessert, we usually have fresh fruit. Between paragraphs, I am scarfing up a Palmer mango. It is perfectly sweet with a distinct aftertaste of pure honey. It is to fruit what Hefeweizen is to beer. Eureka! Tomorrow I’m having Hefe and mango for dessert!