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Authentic Farofa Recipe Brazil, South America
JUMP TO RECIPEWe strongly advise you to read the cooking tips before jumping to the recipe though
Introduction & history
At its most basic, farofa is nothing more than manioc flour toasted in butter, and lots of it as the flour needs to be moistened but still have a crunch to it. However, some recipes will call for bacon fat and not butter, while in the Brazilian state Bahia, they use dendê oil, an orange palm fruit oil, instead. The list of additional ingredients that can be put in farofa is almost endless, from bacon, onion, and garlic, to plantains, raisins, olives, and eggs, either scrambled or hard-boiled ones. The seasoning is typically only salt, but pepper, parsley or coriander are also common. Farofa is served as a side dish, either to be sprinkled over a dish or to be eaten with a main dish like rice, and typically accompanies dishes like feijoada, barbecue, and hearty stews.
Serve With
Cooking tips
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manioc flour
Manioc flour is coarse and comes in two varieties — white and toasted — which both can be used to make farofa, the main difference being that using the toasted one will give your farofa a more intense flavor. If you're living outside of Brazil or areas with large Brazilian communities, sourcing manioc flour may be difficult, so your best bet is to look for it online. -
method
It is easy to make dry farofa, as manioc flour soaks up the butter very quickly. So, if you’d like to make one that is buttery and has a melt-in-your-mouth feel, add so many additional ingredients that they make up the majority of the dish. -
serving
Farofa should be served still warm or at room temperature and should be eaten with the main dish, though some hardcore farofa fans will eat it on its own.
Recipe variations
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Farofa with Eggs and Scallions
Ready in 20minThis recipe gives instructions on how to prepare a type of farofa with eggs and scallions. This variant is courtesy of Leticia Moreinos Schwartz, a chef, cookbook author, and a Brazilian native, and can be found in her The Brazilian Kitchen cookbook, which was awarded the Best Latin Cookbook at the 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
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Farofa with Plantains
Ready in 15minPlantain farofa, or farofa de banana de terra as they call it in Brazil, is a popular type of farofa, served with roasted fish, rice and beans, and meats, and is also a typical accompaniment to a dried meat and rice dish from Piauí state called Maria Isabel rice. The recipe is courtesy of chef Edna Lara, an expert on regional Brazilian cuisine and a cookbook author.
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Farofa with Bacon, Eggs, Olives, and Raisins
Ready in 30minThis version of farofa is perfect if you're looking for rich yet balancing tastes and textures. The bacon is cooked in melted butter first, then the eggs, olives, onion, and raisins are added and cooked until sautéed. Finally, the manioc flour is added and cooked until toasted. The addition of raisins and olives cuts through the richness of the other ingredients, thus balancing them out.
Basic Farofa
PREP 5min
COOK 10min
READY IN 15min
This is the basic farofa recipe, meaning the only ingredients needed are manioc flour, butter, and salt.
Ingredients
Basic Farofa
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
manioc flour
Preparation
1
Basic Farofa
Step 1/2
First, melt butter, then whisk in the salt and start slowly adding manioc flour while constantly stirring until the mixture is dry and the grains have separated.
Step 2/2
Cook for another minute or two, then serve immediately.
Other Variations
-
Farofa with Eggs and Scallions
Ready in 20minThis recipe gives instructions on how to prepare a type of farofa with eggs and scallions. This variant is courtesy of Leticia Moreinos Schwartz, a chef, cookbook author, and a Brazilian native, and can be found in her The Brazilian Kitchen cookbook, which was awarded the Best Latin Cookbook at the 2010 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
-
Farofa with Plantains
Ready in 15minPlantain farofa, or farofa de banana de terra as they call it in Brazil, is a popular type of farofa, served with roasted fish, rice and beans, and meats, and is also a typical accompaniment to a dried meat and rice dish from Piauí state called Maria Isabel rice. The recipe is courtesy of chef Edna Lara, an expert on regional Brazilian cuisine and a cookbook author.
-
Farofa with Bacon, Eggs, Olives, and Raisins
Ready in 30minThis version of farofa is perfect if you're looking for rich yet balancing tastes and textures. The bacon is cooked in melted butter first, then the eggs, olives, onion, and raisins are added and cooked until sautéed. Finally, the manioc flour is added and cooked until toasted. The addition of raisins and olives cuts through the richness of the other ingredients, thus balancing them out.
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