This being the month of Christmas, a holiday celebrated among 160 of the 195 countries that make up this planet, I’ve decided to do a monthly installment of how various countries around the world celebrate this special holiday in their kitchens and feature their signature holiday meals. Some may be sides, some may be mains, maybe a dessert or two, some may be a complete dinner. Only time will tell by which country my girls have randomly pulled out of Santa’s hat.
If at first you don’t succeed, dust yourself off and try it again. Thanks, Aaliyah, for those words of wisdom many years ago. My first go at Farofa didn’t end well. In fact, it was awful and pasty. That’s because I didn’t use the correct cassava flour. I could only find fine ground and thought I could work my way through it. Luckily, I found some coarse ground cassava the other day in a small Latin/African market near my daughter’s doctor’s office. This turned out awesome. Typically, farofa is a topping to a pork and bean dish named feijoada. But, I’ve had a lot of pork lately and thought this crunchy topping might go well on some fried eggs, somewhat akin to migas. I was absolutely spot on. Combine this savory, smoky, garlicky breadcrumb-like topping with egg grease and runny yolks and you have an amazing start to your day!
Farofa
4 oz unsliced slab bacon, cut into rough dice
2 garlic cloves
~1 cup coarse ground cassava, like this
1 tbsp butter
Render the bacon in a frying pan, over medium heat, until the bacon is just starting to crisp up on all sides.
Meanwhile, mince your garlic with a pinch of kosher salt. Once the bacon has crisped, stir in the garlic and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.
If the bottom of the pan isn’t covered in rendered fat, add a little olive oil to coat the bottom.
Then, stir in about ¾ cup of the cassava, if there is still more fat left, add in the remaining cassava until a proper balance is achieved. Reduce the heat to medium-low.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the cassava toasts up and turns a few shades darker, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the butter until fully melted, then remove from the heat and continue to stir until the butter is fully absorbed by the cassava.
Serve over fried eggs, with feijoada, or any other thick stew.
______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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