Maniçoba paraense

The Maniçoba, the feijoada from Pará

Here is the Maniçoba, an exotic specialty dish from Pará and Bahia; this one is quite popular with the locals, as well as the tourists that come visiting to try it! The traditional maniçoba isn’t the most visually attractive brazilian dish; but it is in its unique taste that this dish really makes a good impression... This recipe, created with a perceivable indigenous influence is considered as part of the feijoada family of brazilian dishes, but in this case the usual beans are replaced by manioc and the chopped cassava leaves. Besides the state of Pará, Maniçoba is a typical recipe of the Reconcavo Baiano coastal region of Bahia, mainly served in the cities of Cachoeira and Santo Amaro, this dish plays a big part in the major holidays.

The preparation of this dish is particularily long; and it is better to carefully follow the prescribed lenght of the procedure, because the cassava leaves need to simmer for a long time to help degrade and evaporate the toxic substance called the hydrocyanic acid.

Accordingly, restaurants that offer maniçoba need to begin preparing it many days prior to serving it, to fully rid the cassava leaves of their high amount of the toxic chemical. The recipe also has many types of meat, such as beef breast, bacon, linguiça calabresa sausage and seasoning. The bahia presentation of this dish involves plenty of peppers and farofa; while in Pará, maniçoba can be appreciated with white rice. It is worth noting that there are different ways of prepare this dish, as some like this dish to be very spicy, while others prefer to enjoy the pure taste of manioc.

Recipe for Maniçoba

- 20 packets of manioc leaves (maniva), washed and ground
- 2.2 lb. (1 kg) of beef, already seasoned and braised
- 1 lb. (1/2 kg) pork, already seasoned and braised
- 1 lb. (1/2 kg) of linguiça calabresa sausage, sliced
- 1 lb. (1/2 kg) chouriço
- 5 lb. (2 kg) ox tripe, well seasoned and sautéed
- Salted and dried beef bouillon
- 1 lb. (1/2 kg) pork fat (fresh)
- 1 lb. (1/2 kg) sliced natural bacon
- 1 beef tongue, prepared, spiced and braised
- The broth resulting from simmering 2 calf's feet,
- Seasoning to taste (salt, garlic, onion, oregano, chicory).

Procedure:

1) In a big pot with enough water, we will simmer for 5 days the ground manioc leaves without covering the pot. This procedure needs only to be done during the daytime, turning the burner off during nighttime. Throughout the lenghty simmering time of maniçoba, one should stir a few times per day, so that the ingredients do not stick to the pot. And not to forget to add water whenever the liquid level drops.

2) On the second day, add to the preparation the fresh bacon, which will gradually dissolve in the broth.

3) On the fifth day, put in all the previously braised meats and sausages.

4) The spices should be added at the beginning of the sixth day and boiled for about 10 hours to mix with the ingredients taste. Use salt only if necessary, at the end of this process.

That's it, your maniçoba is ready: serve with white rice and farofa.