Blame it on Rio
By VERONICA HINKE Contributor February 13, 2012 11:36AM
Chef Julio Ramirez of Juilo's Cocina Restaurant cuts up calamari as he prepares Vatapa, a Brazilian stew-like dish.| Michelle LaVigne~Sun-Times Media
Vatapá Paste (Seafood Cream)
Adapted from Julio’s Cocina Latina
1 pound stale Italian bread ¾ cup dried smoked shrimp ¼ cup dendê (can substitute olive oil) ¼ cup peanut oil 1 cup coconut milk ¼ cup water 2-inch piece of peeled fresh ginger Red pepper flakes, to taste
Roast shrimp shells and use to make shrimp stock with white wine, water and sautéed onion, carrot and celery. Combine paste and shrimp stock. Add remaining ¼ cup coconut milk to make a broth. Simmer with ginger. Add red pepper flakes.
Serve with cooked rice, white fish, shrimp, calamari and/or squid.
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Updated: February 23, 2012 8:13AM
hatever your sins, Rio won’t care, or even notice. Especially during carnival, this year, Feb. 18-21.
But when it comes to the sinfully rich, mouth-watering flavors and vibrant colors of Brazil’s cuisine, give credit where it’s due. Secret’s in the sauce, and every Brazilian cook or expat here seems to cherish a favorite.
Cristiane Pereira’s mother taught her how to cook while growing up in Brazil. A family favorite, Moqueca de Peixe, is a popular fish stew flavored with bell peppers, saffron and chardonnay. A coconut milk sauce is the secret behind Pereira’s Bobó de Camarão (Shrimp in Yuca Cream).
Both meals are perfect for celebrating carnival. “They’re very carnival-istic,” Pereira said. She makes them at Taste of Brasil, the restaurant she opened in Oak Park three years ago with her husband, Andre Otero, also a native of Brazil. Dendê oil, a bright orange palm oil commonly used in Brazil, gives Bobó de Camarão a festive, bright yellow color. “Put the dendê oil and coconut milk in at the end,” Pereira recommended. “If the oil and coconut milk mix doesn’t cook as long, it will stay fresh and the taste will stay alive.”
Oil of choice
Dendê oil also stars in Julio Ramirez’s Vatapá Paste. The dish is a popular, bright yellow-colored Brazilian seafood stew. “Dendê oil is used in a lot of Brazilian dishes,” Ramirez emphasized.
The stew will be on the menu at the restaurant Ramirez owns in Lake Zurich with his wife, Cindy, Julio’s Cocina Latina. Ramirez grew up in Ecuador, not Brazil, but he learned how to cook Brazilian specialties by reading books and plenty of practice.
São Paulo, Brazil native Edilson Lima, lead dancer with music and dance ensemble Chicago Samba, likes crème de leite, a popular canned milk cream sauce used for making stroganoff, estrogonofe. It’s one of my favorites,” Lima said.
Sidiclei DeMartini comes from Palma Sola, a town southwest of Rio de Janeiro. Carnival is not as enthusiastically celebrated in Palma Sola as it is in Rio, but residents — and expats, including DeMartini — have their share of favorite sauces.
Going green
DeMartini likes Molho de Mente, an evergreen-colored dipping sauce made with mint leaves. He blends mint with a little onion, diced garlic, vinegar, olive oil and a touch of salt. “The sauce requires a lot of blending to break the fibers in the mint leaves,” he said. At Fogo de Chao Churrascaria in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, where DeMartini is restaurant manager and gaucho chef, the sauce is a popular special request for accenting lamb.
If you are planning a trip to Brazil for carnival, DeMartini has advice: pace yourself and get some rest. “Imagine a Super Bowl party that lasts five days,” he said. “That is carnival. People don’t sleep. They go from the clubs to the beaches and back to the clubs again. It’s a non-stop party for four-five nights. Be ready to get some rest afterward.”
If you can’t swing a week-long hurrah in Rio, there will be local celebrations.
• Oak Park’s Taste of Brasil will partner with MBIL, a group of Brazilian expat moms, to host a “Carnival for Kids” on Feb. 26.
• Julio’s Cocina Latina will host a “Vegas style show” featuring singer/comedian Vito Zatto on Feb. 19.
• Texas de Brazil, a restaurant in Chicago’s River North neighborhood, will host a carnival party and mixology competition on Feb. 21, featuring mixologists making caipirinha, fashionable Brazilian cocktails made with cachaça, a sugar cane-based spirit.
Competitor Josh Pearson, head bartender at Sepia in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, will make a cross between caipirinha and batidas, which is another cocktail made with cachaça, limes, coconut cream and passion fruit. He’ll compete in the fundraiser to win for his pet cause, United Through Reading. “It won’t be my first time competing, but it will be my first time competing to raise funds for a cause,” Pearson said.
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