Travel to Brazil: The Cookbook by Polyana Ferreira de Oliveira

Author:Polyana Ferreira de Oliveira
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-12-07T14:14:29+00:00

CHAPADA DOS VEADEIROS

Restaurante da Nenzinha

The Chapada dos Veadeiros is a stunning array of table mountains in the Cerrado, just a 3-hour drive north of Brasília. It is known for its landscapes, but also for its mysticism, because of the quartz formation it sits on, and because the national park’s gateway town, Alto Paraíso, is on the same “14th Parallel,” latitude as Machu Picchu. According to NASA, because of the quartz crystals, it’s the brightest point seen from the Earth’s orbit!

New-age travelers were the first tourists here, but the destination has gained popularity over the past 20 years amongst ecotourism enthusiasts who hike to the crystal clear natural pools, gorgeous waterfalls, and the out-of-this world Vale da Lua rock formation. When clients of ours request this destination, we often entrust them to the care of Travessia Ecoturismo, one of the pioneer operators in the region. Likewise, I put my trust in the agency’s owner, Ion David, when considering a recipe from Goiás for the book. The state is one of those places which has seen several influxes of domestic migrants throughout the 20th century, so the cuisine is a beautiful compilation of several Brazilian traditions, using local ingredients unique to the Cerrado.

Ion immediately told me I had to talk to Justa da Mota, known to everyone as Dona Nenzinha. Blame it on the quartz energies, or her sweet demeanor, but I felt an instant connection to her, and apparently so does everyone who visits her restaurant and pousada, set in São Jorge, a small village founded by miners. Nenzinha was born in Alto Paraíso but moved to São Jorge with her husband and children in 1985. A few years later, some tourists started to show up in the village, and a couple, on her doorstep. The town lacked restaurants at the time, and someone had told them Dona Nenzinha was an excellent cook. She welcomed them in, cooked up a meal, and offered them a place to sleep. They soon started bringing friends, and at one point she had 12 people sleeping in her living room!

This continued for a few years until Dona Nenzinha officially opened her restaurant, simply named Restaurante da Nenzinha, in the early 1990’s. It was around this time that Ion first moved to the region and started bringing tourists to her restaurant. To this day, he brings tourists to Nenzinha, because even with all the other restaurants that have opened in the meantime, nothing beats Dona Nenzinha’s home-cooked meals (or as we say, comida caseira) after a long hike.

She shared one of the most well-known dishes from the Cerrado with me, and that is the galinhada. It is a simple chicken and rice recipe, packed with flavor, and a safe bet for even the pickiest of eaters.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.