{"id":286357,"date":"2020-12-22T16:43:44","date_gmt":"2020-12-22T19:43:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/?p=286357"},"modified":"2020-12-24T11:07:37","modified_gmt":"2020-12-24T14:07:37","slug":"arab-products-in-brazilian-christmas-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/arab-products-in-brazilian-christmas-dinner\/","title":{"rendered":"Arab products in Brazilian Christmas dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>S\u00e3o Paulo \u2013 Olive oil, dates, olives, sardines, pistachio, couscous, pickles, cinnamon, frozen strawberries. These are some of the food products Brazil imports from the Arab countries that can be found in Christmas dinners across Brazil. ANBA asked chef and cuisine professor Rosny Gerdes of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/phirozagastronomia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Phiroza Gastronomia<\/a> to talk about some of the many possibilities of these foods.<\/p>\n<p>The olive oil is produced by several Arab countries, particularly in North Africa, and is a staple fat in the kitchen. \u201cDepending on the culture, a different fat is used. The French use more butter, while the Italians and Arabs use oil, which can be used in the basic sofrito with onions and garlic as the base of many dishes, such as rice. It\u2019s a fat that can be used in most dishes,\u201d said the chef.<\/p>\n<p>A fruit that is a symbol olf many Arab countries, the date is seen as a superfood as it\u2019s a great source of vitamins and minerals. Multifunctional in the kitchen, it can be used in sweet and savory dishes and even substitute cane sugar in recipes. \u201cThe date is a dried fruit that is very particular of the Middle East and has a very rich symbology in the Arab culture. It can be used in the couscous, messing around with sweet and savory dishes, and even sweet pies. It can be diced and added to rice, farofa, and even salads with nuts. I serve couscous instead of rice in the Christmas dinner,\u201d said Gerdes.<\/p>\n<p>Couscous is an Arab dish that is consumed in many regions of Brazil, known for its versatility. \u201cCouscous can be served with aromatics, lamb or vegetables. It\u2019s very easy to make; in five minutes it\u2019s ready,\u201d said the chef.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/arab-couscous-joins-unesco-heritage-list\/\">Arab couscous joins UNESCO heritage list<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/tv-series-shows-link-between-falafel-and-acaraje\/\">TV series shows link between falafel and acaraj\u00e9<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_286346\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-286346\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-286348\" src=\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/FOTO-ROSNY-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/FOTO-ROSNY-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/FOTO-ROSNY-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/anba.com.br\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/FOTO-ROSNY.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-286346\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rosny Gerdes, chef de cuisine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Other Arab food Brazil imports are olives, which have a remarkable flavor and is the base of the olive oil. \u201cThe olives can be included in the dinner as a French tapenade, where it\u2019s diced and mixed with parsley, anchovies, garlic, and can be added to a cod, a bruschetta, a salad, or it can be served on its own, whole, with oil and oregano as an appetizer,\u201d said the chef.<\/p>\n<p>The sardine is another typical dish found in North Africa that can be part of the Christmas dinner. \u201cSardine is a very peculiar fish, love it or leave it. A simple grilled sardine is marvelous, or even with a tomato sauce to be serve as a starter. A sardine escabeche is very Arab, too, with the acidity of the vinegar, the fat of oil, and aromatics \u2013 it can be a great option to start a meal. The ideal is keeping it simple and not going crazy,\u201d said Gerdes.<\/p>\n<p>Pickles are also some of Arab shipments to Brazil. \u201cIt\u2019s like cilantro \u2013 you have to know how to use it, and it can be added to a potato salad, adding a crunchy factor and an acidity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Sweet dishes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Frozen strawberries are also part of the Arab imports to Brazil. For Gerdes, it can be used in a coulis, a berry dressing to be served over an ice cream, a vanilla flan or a cheesecake.<\/p>\n<p>An Arab nut, pistachio is also imported by Brazil. \u201cPistachio is a very expensive nut, very typical of Sicily, Bronte, and used by many Arabs. They use it in ice creams and desserts, those wonderful Arab sweets. I usually serve it as a dessert, which is a financier, an almond and pistachio cake, a French classic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Cinnamon is one of the most used spices in Brazilian cuisine, and a good part come from the Arab countries. \u201cCinnamon is my favorite spice, and it has a very relevant nutritious value, in addition to its aroma. For me, apple and cinnamon are a gorgeous match, so I\u2019d suggest a tarte tatin, an apple pie,\u201d the chef said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Translated by Guilherme Miranda<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"credits-overlay\" data-target=\".wp-image-286351\">Shutterstock<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Some Arab products imported to Brazil can be found in the country\u2019s Christmas dinner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2305,"featured_media":286351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[114],"tags":[18557,18562,18561,18564,18563,1771,9857,4625,18559,18565],"class_list":{"0":"post-286357","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-alimentos-arabes","9":"tag-arab-dinner","10":"tag-arab-foods","11":"tag-arab-imports","12":"tag-christimas-dinner","13":"tag-dates","14":"tag-olive-oil-en","15":"tag-olives","16":"tag-pistache","17":"tag-pistachio"},"wps_subtitle":"Some Arab products imported to Brazil can be found in the country\u2019s Christmas dinner.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2305"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/anba.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}