South American Cuisine

How Chillies are used in South America.

This category includes a series of posts discussing how Chillies are used in cooking in South American cuisine, including Brazil and Peru. The posts cover Chillies’ history, how they are used in cooking, and the types of chillies grown in these countries. The background to these posts is as follows.

Peru and Brazil were colonized by the Spanish and Portuguese, respectively. A consequence of colonization is always that there is a fusion of cultures, cuisine and ways of doing things.

In Peru’s case, the Incas, who were the dominant tribe, had been eating Chillies for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived. They combined chillies with various ingredients that had been unknown to the Spanish previously, including tomatoes, maize, squash, and meats like Llama and Alpaca. This cooking’s influence made its mark on traditional Spanish cuisine and fused to create what is known as New Criollo cuisine over time. Other influences, like those of the African slaves that the Spanish brought with them, and a series of migration waves ( including notably from the Far East) have contributed to the fantastic cuisine found in Peru today.

Brazil was colonized by Portugal. When the Portuguese arrived, they found people that had been eating Chillies as part of their diet for a long time. With close proximity to Bolivia (which is the place Chillies originated), Chillies would undoubtedly have found their way to Brazil. They would have been used by the local Indian tribes in their cooking of ingredients like maize, cassava, and beans.

Thus, a foundation for spicy food had been laid. When the African slaves that the Portuguese brought with them arrived, they found themselves in familiar territory from a food perspective. They were already accustomed to spicy foods, which they had eaten in their home countries. It didn’t take long for them to adapt their cooking to local conditions. This, when combined with the influence that Portuguese cuisine had on Brazilian food, resulted in a variety of fusion dishes that can be found in the country today.

Lets make Brazilian Feijoada

CGS Cooking with Chillies, South American Cuisine 0 Comment

Friday is Feijoada day

Feijoada is Brazil’s national dish. While there are many variations, it generally always contains beans and various meats cooked with spices, onions, garlic and oranges.  Chillies are added in some of these recipes, but if not, hot sauce is never far away when this dish is being served.

On Fridays, virtually every establishment that serves food in cities like Rio de Janeiro makes Feijoada. Be it a cheap pub or the most expensive restaurant, Feijoada will be on the menu. In Rio de Janeiro, Friday is Feijoada day.

I became a fan of Feijoada when I first tasted it in a Portuguese bar in Capetown, South Africa. That version was made with white cannellini beans, whereas  traditional Feijoada in Brazil is made with black beans. Regardless of this difference, the flavour was still to die for. It was comfort food of the highest order that I will never forget.  So much so, that given the opportunity, I will make Feijoada at the drop of a hat.

Indeed. So, when I recently came across a recipe for a traditional Brazilian Feijoada, I didn’t need any encouragement. I was so impressed by the recipe that I decided to make it. Nothing was going to stand in the way of making this dish.

Before doing that, however, I needed to order some ingredients. They are ingredients that might be available in any Portuguese kitchen, but they certainly are not things I had in my larder. I am talking about ingredients like Paio sausages (a smoked Brazilian sausage made with pork loin and seasoned with garlic, salt, and Chillies)  , corned beef (as a substitute to carne seca),  the black beans themselves and Linquica sausages 

Over and above these ingredients, I also needed smoked gammon, brisket (to make corned beef), a smoked ham hock, chives, parsley, onions, garlic, oranges, Chillies, pork belly, pork ribs, some olive oil and various herbs and spices.

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Chillies in Brazilian cooking

CGS South American Cuisine
The use of Chillies in Brazilian cooking. Feijoada
The History Of Chillies in Brazil

It should be no surprise that Chillies are used in Brazilian cooking. The fact that Brazil contains 65 % of the Amazon basin is a clue to how close this country is to the Chilli.  It is widely accepted that many varieties of Chillies, while now found worldwide, are native to the Amazon basin *.  While neighbouring  Bolivia is thought to be one of the countries where Chillies originally started, Brazil would not have been far behind in being a place where they could first be found and consumed

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Chillies in Peruvian cooking

CGS South American Cuisine
Chillies in Peruvian food
The History Of Chillies in Peru

Before spreading itself around the world, the origin of the Chilli goes way back to the Amazon basin in South America. Studies have hypothesised  that the Capsicum genus, the broad biological classification of Chillies, originated in an area in upper Peru that is now Bolivia. It then spread, through the dispersal arms of nature, to areas throughout South America and to the West Indies (where Christopher Columbus first encountered it and took its journey to Europe).

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