My final destination in South America, before departing for a cristmas at home, was Rio de Janeiro. Rio was every bit as ecelectic and interesting as I had hoped, though the oft-lauded beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, were admittedly a tad dull after the beauty and isolation of Ilha Grande. Keen to reintegrate into urban life, our group departed on a city tour shortly after our arrival. Undoubtably the highlight of which was visiting Christ the Redeemer, a truly imposing and magnificent statue that sits perched above the city, arms spread wide. No doubt the most eponymous of Rio’s tourist attractions, the statue was visible from practically every part of the city – even lit up at night, he seemed to levitate above us. JC as my group renamed him, became somewhat emblematic of the trip and Facebook even requested I tag him as a friend on the collage I recently posted.
Another thing for which Rio is famous, is the slums which are situated at the edge of the city, sprawling right up to the edge of the modern developments, hotels and beaches. This stark visual juxtaposition, really drew into focus the rich/poor divide in this city and was truly thought-provoking. For this reason, some of us went on a tour of the Favelas, an interesting if overly orchestrated climb through the streets of one of the poorest neighbourhoods. There we experienced firsthand the poor sanitation and dangeously erected homes, but also the spirit of the people and some of the projects being used to help educate and enrich the life of its impoverished inhabitants. To be honest, I was expecting worse. The overwrought hand-wringing of our too-sincere tour guide, made the place seem unreal at times, like the favella was a tourist attraction of its own. The lines of reality and fiction became blurred and I left the tour unsure of what to believe. I do however think tours like this are to be encouraged, as we were able to invest in the local people, purchasing artworks and homemade pastries. Despite this odd experience, as a group we cant have been sufficiently put off, as we attended a Favela party for our last full night together as a group. The “party” was essentially a trip back into the slums at around midnight to visit a local nightclub there. At first the place seemed strange; we gringos were deposited on a balcony where we could observe the locals in a way that felt hugely voyeuristic. Below us, a small pocket of local boys (presumably employed by the club) danced an oddly choregraphed hybrid dance, somewhere between street-dancing and line-dancing. But once the number of partygoers rose, and we moved downstairs the atmosphere changed and it felt more like a traditional night out. For the girls in the group the experience may have been slightly different. While it was apparent that a small group of thrity-something white men, posed little threat to the local boys with their rippling beach bods, the latinas didn’t feel the same way about having white girls in their local haunt. In the most bizarre and brazen display of posturing, many of the Rio girls interjected themselves between our female friends and the local men, where they popped their chests and twerked their butts in a way that seemed to say “this is how its done!” All very strange.
Just like my visit to in Mexico, in working hard to illustrate the cultural differences I experienced, I have inadvertently painted a bleak picture that may only serve to reinforce said boundaries and differences. But what I need to stress, is that through these challenging experiences I learnt a great deal and they remain some of the most vivid, exciting and enriching of my travels so far. Embrace the differences I say.
For my final dish, I am going to post a recipe for a classic Portuguese dessert, that I have enjoyed many times over the years, Pastel de Nata. The Portuguese heritage in Brazil makes this an appropriate choice and in fact I even sampled a similar product in the favelas and an identical tart on my last day in the city. As it was the last Brazilian/Portuguese dish I ate in South America, I think it has earned its place as my last recipe from that part of the world. If you have never experienced the joy of these custard tarts, it is worth noting that they are really nothing like their british counterparts. Rather than a set, almost savoury custard in shortcrust pastry, Pastel de Nata are made of a lusciously thick vanilla custard that is rebaked in a a sweet, buttery flaky puff pastry crust. To my mind the Portuguese have the right idea and I infinitely prefer these to our own version. See what you think…
Ingredients
Butter, for greasing
3 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
30g cornflour
1 vanilla pod, split, seeds scraped out
175ml whole milk
225ml double cream
300g ready-rolled puff pastry
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Grease the wells of a 12-hole muffin tray with butter.
3. In a pan, heat the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour over a low to medium heat, whisking continuously until thickened and well combined.
4. Add the vanilla seeds, then add the milk and cream in a thin stream, whisking continuously, until the mixture is thick, smooth and well combined.
5. Continue to stir the custard mixture until it comes to the boil, then remove from the heat.
6. Roll out the puff pastry onto a clean work surface.
7. Cut the pastry into rounds using a cookie cutter.
8. Press a pastry disc into each of the wells in the muffin tray.
9. Prick the base of each pastry case with a fork. This will prevent the pastry from rising too much.
10. Divide the cooled custard equally among the pastry cases.
11. Transfer the muffin tray to the oven and bake the tarts for 18-20 minutes.
12. Allow to cool in the tin.
Mastication / Destination 