Recife Cuisine

(HNMCT) - Even in a country with a unique culinary culture like Brazil, the typical dishes of the state of Pernambuco in general and the city of Recife in particular still create their own identity. The Pernambucan people use ingredients that are rarely found in other regions, and certainly cannot fail to mention the countless types of seafood that the Atlantic Ocean has bestowed upon this land.

Recife is home to bolo de rolo, a cake considered Brazil's "national dish." According to legend, black slaves adapted the Portuguese recipe for colchão de noiva to create bolo de rolo. Like other sponge cakes, bolo de rolo bakers mix flour, eggs, butter, and sugar, then layer the mixture on top of each other. What makes bolo de rolo different is that between each layer, the chef spreads a jam made from guava pulp stewed in sugar water. This guava jam is a Brazilian specialty and is used in many of their dishes.

One thing that many visitors to Recife don’t realise is that there is a lot of delicious food to be found on the beach. You can easily find street vendors selling seafood grilled over charcoal. Recife’s brackish water prawns are particularly tasty, thanks to their sweet taste. Just keep an eye out for stalls selling fresh grilled prawns – the best way to do this is to say provar to the vendor and they will give you a bite to try.

Caldinho dish.

You can also enjoy caldinho soup on Recife beach. You just need to pay attention to the street vendors carrying thermoses to know that they sell caldinho. Caldinho is actually black bean soup cooked with pork fat. The vendors will pour the soup into plastic cups for diners to sip with quail eggs, cassava cakes or bread spread with queijo coalho cheese and grilled.

Moqueca dish.

If you’re looking for a truly unique main course, opt for moqueca. The 300-year history of moqueca dates back to the coconut and palm trees that were planted in Brazil by Portuguese colonists. Black slaves then devised a way to take fish, shrimp, squid and mussels and simmer them in palm oil and coconut milk for hours. The result is moqueca soup – one sip and you’ll feel like you’ve put the entire Brazilian coastline on your tongue. The best way to enjoy moqueca is to sprinkle chopped coriander over the soup and then tear off pieces of bread crust and dip into the soup.

Source