Another popular address for locals who appreciate good food is Tordesilhas
where Mara Salles advocates the preservation and elevation of native Brazilian ingredients.
Located in the bustling Rua Bela Cintra area of Sao Paulo,
the restaurant serves up some of regional Brazil’s more obscure dishes -
many of which descend from indigenous and colonial traditions.
The restaurant’s name, Tordesilhas, references a treaty signed in 1494 between Portugal and Spain,
marking the boundaries of their newly claimed lands in the Americas.
Salles tells us her own cooking is an opportunity to break boundaries,
putting historic Brazilian dishes in front of modern diners.
Rather than taking an ultra modern approach,
Salles attempts to recreate the authentic flavors of Brazilian home cooking
in the context of a contemporary restaurant.
Take a stroll through her kitchen
where a collection of rustic clay and natural stone pots speak to the chef’s culinary style…
As Salles reminds us, “informality and simplicity may also be chic.”
Salles show us Tacacá, an Amazonian soup from the North made from dried shrimp
and a rare green called jambú which has a pleasantly sour flavor
and produces a numbing sensation in the mouth.
Traditionally presented in a hollowed gourd, jambú is served with a wooden skewer,
used to “fish out” the dried shrimp and dark green jambú leaves.
Salles takes us to the other end of the country for her presentation of barreado -
a beef stew of Azorian origin, from the city of Moetes in the southern state of Paraná …
Everyday ingredients like beef stew meat, onion, garlic, scallions, tomato and cumin
are hermetically sealed and slowly simmered for fourteen hours in earthen pots…
As the seal is broken, clouds of steam rise from the pot…
The rich broth is mixed with manioc flour called farinha
for a type of side dish similar to grits called pirão.
The pirao acts as a pillow for the tender meat and sautéed plantain slices.
Barreado is a popular dish during Carnival....
easily made and left to cook for hours, allowing housewives time to enjoy the festivities…
and return home with dinner already made.
Let’s listen to her describe the details of this process…
[Mara Salles speaking] The women normally loves to go to carnival parties,
and they discovered the way of to participate in the party,
and to prepare the cook for your your husband....
Because Barreado is very, very easy to prepare, and is long to cook.
So, they put every, every ingredient inside..... meat and garlic, onion....
And the the condiment, the main condiment is Camino.
[...]
And the meat is cut in dices, like this, and put inside with tomato sauce
and we put the pan and seal the pan.
Years ago they used to seal with the [....], you know?
And now you use manioc flour.
After about 14 hours, um....
....The day before, they used to prepare it underground.
In Brazil, with fire over or under. Well....
Finalize, the women used to prepare, go to party.....
And when when they come in, they.... The food is.... Everything okay.
And the husband couldn't argue. They couldn't argue.