Who can resist a Brazilian “escondidinho”?
The rich combination of mashed potatoes or cassava with dried meat – in its original version – conquered Brazil and international palates.
The very Brazilian recipe was voted the 2nd best casserole in the world, according to the evaluation of the gastronomic encyclopedia TasteAtlas released this week.
Brazilian escondidinho secured the silver medal with a score of 4.6 (out of 5 possible points).
It was second only to pastel de choclo, a typical Chilean recipe made with ground meat, olives, and eggs distributed in layers of corn puree.
The Brazilian recipe left behind international casserole icons such as lasagna à parmigiana from Italy (5th place), mousaka from Greece (10th place), and shepherd’s pie from England (19th place).
Check out the TasteAtlas rank on Instagram.
Brazil still secured one more representative in the Top 50 of the ranking: the São Paulo couscous was in 49th place, scoring 3.
SILVER MEDAL
The Brazilian escondidinho was presented to the international public by TasteAtlas as “a traditional Brazilian casserole that can be made with a variety of ingredients: beef, chicken, fish, pork or shrimp”, contemplating the varieties of the recipe in the different regions of Brazil.
But the gastronomic publication stresses that the original, as we know, is “the escondidinho of dried meat, made with a combination of salted dried meat and mashed potatoes”.
“The dried meat is cooked with tomato, onion, garlic, and various seasonings.”
“It is placed on a baking sheet with purê and often grated cheese. The combination is baked in the oven until golden brown on top,” describes the TasteAtlas team
The recipe is a classic of northeastern cuisine and one of the star dishes of Chef Rodrigo Oliveira, a new juror of the program “MasterChef”, who taught the step-by-step in this video (in Brazilian Portuguese).
THE CHAMPION
The pastel de choclo won the gold medal with a score of 4.7.
According to TasteAtlas, Chile’s favorite home-cooked meal takes ground beef, chicken, black olives, onions, hard-boiled eggs, and dough made from fresh ground corn (choclo). It is also popular in Peru, Argentina, and Bolivia.
Corn plays a key role in the dish, and unsurprisingly – it was worshipped by the ancient Incas, whose most important god was the god of corn.
“Corn was so important to the Incas that their chief, believed to be a descendant of the gods, planted the first corn seeds every year,” highlights the TasteAtlas team
According to anthropologists, the dish probably originates from the Spanish conquistadors who hired tribal cooks to make a meal as a souvenir from home.
The cooks implemented the corn dough into a dish similar to empanadas; thus, the pastel de choclo was born.
A curiosity: the pie is usually sprinkled with sugar before baking, ensuring that a caramelized crust develops on top.
With information from UOL
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