Orange Salad

Recipe origin: Brazil

Ingredients

• 5 oranges
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• Salt and pepper

Procedure

1. Peel the oranges and remove the inner core.
2. Cut the oranges into thin slices. Arrange the slices on a plate.
3. Sprinkle them with sugar, salt, and pepper.
4. Serve, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Almost every kind of fruit grows in Brazil, including apples, oranges, peaches, strawberries, bananas, papayas, mangoes, and avocados. Fruits, vegetables, meat, and flowers are sold at feiras (street markets). These outside markets are set up on streets, which are closed to vehicle traffic. The markets are set up in a new location every day.

Churrasco, chunks of beef cooked on a metal skewer over hot coals, is another favorite. Sometimes the beef is soaked in a mixture of vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic before cooking. This "Brazilian barbecue" is served with rice, potato salad, polenta (fried corn mush), or, occasionally, a fried banana. Gaúchos (cowboys) living in the region of Rio Grande do Sul especially enjoy churrasco. After the gaúchos eat their meal, they drink maté (an herbal tea drunk in many parts of South America). The tea leaves are placed inside a hollowed-out gourd, and then boiling water is poured over them. Gaúchos slowly sip the maté through a metal straw, called a bombilla, with a strainer on the lower tip of it. The gourd and straw are carried, hanging from the belt.

Another popular beverage is guaraná, made from a small red fruit that is high in caffeine and grows in the Amazon River area. It is a refreshing soft drink, unique to Brazil and with a taste some describe as similar to creme soda. People in the Amazon River area also chew the guaraná seeds, or make a drink by dissolving a powder made from the seeds in water. Powdered guaraná is available in the United States in some health food stores, or in markets specializing in foods from South America.