Vaca atolada - Brazillian cuisine

[JRD]

An easy recipe from Brazil. PZ and I were exchanging cooking ideas and I mentioned this one. As promised, here goes the recipe.

You will need
- 2 pounds of cassava
- 4 tomatoes
- 3 onions
- Parsley
- Broth (try to use real broth instead of those pre-made, over processed ones. The easiest way is to boil vegetables like carrots, brocolli, cabbage etc. Everytime I cook something in water, instead of discarding the water after cooking, I sift it to get rid of small pieces or even pass it through a mixer then freeze the broth to use in other recipes)
- 3 pounds of ribs
- salt and pepper

How to make it (really easy)
- Cut the cassava in 4 inches long pieces and boil in pressure for about 30 minutes. It should be half cooked by then. Not soft but not too hard either.
- In a deep pot put chopped onions and olive oil. When the onions gets fried, add the cassva and cook a little more.
- Cut the ribs so you have one bone per rib. Add them to the pot with the onions nd the cassava and stir it. Now you have the onions, cassava and ribs all mixed up and all main flavors there. Stir it untill the meat gets fried on the outside.
- Add the tomatoes. Keep stirring.
- Add the broth untill it cover all ingredients and let it cook slowly, very slowly. Keep the lid on.
- You want to get the cassava to be almost melt in a delicious goo  . Keep adding broth if the cassava is still hard.
- The ribs will slow cook as the cassava melts down. It can take a while but that's the secret... don't rush it. Open a bottle of wine, enjoy good company, good music... 
- Put salt and pepper.
- Before serving, add the parsley.

Enjoy!! 

[PZ]

That sounds delicious, JRD  +1

I assume the ribs are beef not pig because vaca = cow?

I can't wait to try it 

[JRD]

I assume the ribs are beef not pig because vaca = cow?

Correct. You can use pork ribs if you want though.

[PZ]

I found some beautiful beef short ribs at the grocery today 

[PZ]

Well, I started my vaca atolada today, and it reminds me of feijoada - not that the smells are the same, but that the kitchen is filled with smells I have never experienced before.  The aromas are wonderful as the pot is simmering on the stove for the good part of the day while the yucca melts. 

[Art Blade]

"while the yucca melts?" To me a yucca is some type of room decoration, some sort of a palm tree

[PZ]

You're correct!  However, the eating part is the root 

[Art Blade]

OK. that's going to be disturbing for some people when they try to water their yucca and then that plant just falls over because someone might have wanted to taste the root and then stuck the stem back into the pot like you would with a parasol on the beach.

[PZ]

 

[PZ]

Here are a few pictures of the process so far:

[spoiler text=vaca atolada]The ingredients:
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Short ribs into the pot with olive oil to develop flavor
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The short ribs are nicely browned, then into a plate to rest - then add the onions and yucca to the pot to begin the long cook
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Yucca chopped and ready to cook
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All ingredients are added, beef returned to the pot, and braising continues
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Bubbling away and almost ready to eat!
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[/spoiler]

[Art Blade]

Yum!

[PZ]

It was delicious! Although the flavors were completely different, it was as enjoyable as feijoada 

One bowl with a single short rib was definitely enough for dinner

[JRD]

That looks fantastic! 

Yes, vaca atolada can be quite filled with flavor and smells and one serving is enough to send you straight to the couch for a couple hours.

I'll try and post more recipes soon.

[PZ]

Thanks JRD!

I enjoy your authentic recipes because it fills the house with wonderful fragrances the whole day