Chef Ana Bueno"s Unique Celebration of Caiçara Culinary
July 25, 2010
Banana da Terra, in Paraty's historic district, is inspired in the culinary traditions of caiçara communities. Chef Ana Bueno, a former journalist, has a deep commitment to the study of this culture which developed from the southern tip of the Paraná coast to the southern border of Rio de Janeiro shores, where Paraty is located. Ccaiçaras descend from indigenous populations, Africans and Portuguese colonizers.
Their culinary relies on fresh fish, collected foods, such as bananas, and subsistence agriculture, in which manioc is one of the main staples.
Chef Ana Bueno, who named her restaurant for Musa sapientum, one of many types of bananas and plantains which grow in Brazil, uses all kinds of traditional ingredients in her contemporary creations.
The restaurant with doors opening onto the colonial street is a great stop for seafood dishes such as fried fish with palmito pupunha (peach palm) risotto or casadinho de camarão, a local favorite consisting of two prawns filled with farofa and fried together.
For dessert, nothing could be more authentic than a sweet made from bananas, the most important fruit in the caiçara diet, with the chef's sophisticated touch, as in the banana and Port wine pie.
You can have your meal with imported wines - the restaurant has a good cellar - but keep in mind that chef Ana Bueno's husband, Casé Peçanha, owns Paratiana. The cachaça is produced from fresh-picked sugar cane, without any type of chemicals, in a distillery in the outskirts of Paraty.
It can be served pure at Banana da Terra, or in caipirinhas, for example.
Banana da Terra is the only Paraty member of the Boa Lembrança Restaurant Association.
Chef Ana Bueno is the author of Culinária Caiçara (Dialeto, 2007, English/Portuguese, hardcover, 116 pages), with texts by anthropologist Antonio Carlos Diegues and photos by Vito d'Alessio. The book presents a selection of the chef's recipes and insights into the rich caiçara heritage. Ask about purchasing the book at Banana da Terra.
Rua Doutor Samuel Costa 14
Parati - RJ
23970-000
Brazil
Phone: 55-24-3371-1725 (call to confirm hours)
Banana da Terra, in Paraty's historic district, is inspired in the culinary traditions of caiçara communities. Chef Ana Bueno, a former journalist, has a deep commitment to the study of this culture which developed from the southern tip of the Paraná coast to the southern border of Rio de Janeiro shores, where Paraty is located. Ccaiçaras descend from indigenous populations, Africans and Portuguese colonizers.
Their culinary relies on fresh fish, collected foods, such as bananas, and subsistence agriculture, in which manioc is one of the main staples.
Chef Ana Bueno, who named her restaurant for Musa sapientum, one of many types of bananas and plantains which grow in Brazil, uses all kinds of traditional ingredients in her contemporary creations.
The restaurant with doors opening onto the colonial street is a great stop for seafood dishes such as fried fish with palmito pupunha (peach palm) risotto or casadinho de camarão, a local favorite consisting of two prawns filled with farofa and fried together.
For dessert, nothing could be more authentic than a sweet made from bananas, the most important fruit in the caiçara diet, with the chef's sophisticated touch, as in the banana and Port wine pie.
You can have your meal with imported wines - the restaurant has a good cellar - but keep in mind that chef Ana Bueno's husband, Casé Peçanha, owns Paratiana. The cachaça is produced from fresh-picked sugar cane, without any type of chemicals, in a distillery in the outskirts of Paraty.
It can be served pure at Banana da Terra, or in caipirinhas, for example.
Banana da Terra is the only Paraty member of the Boa Lembrança Restaurant Association.
Culinária Caiçara
Chef Ana Bueno is the author of Culinária Caiçara (Dialeto, 2007, English/Portuguese, hardcover, 116 pages), with texts by anthropologist Antonio Carlos Diegues and photos by Vito d'Alessio. The book presents a selection of the chef's recipes and insights into the rich caiçara heritage. Ask about purchasing the book at Banana da Terra.
Address & Contact Information:
Rua Doutor Samuel Costa 14
Parati - RJ
23970-000
Brazil
Phone: 55-24-3371-1725 (call to confirm hours)
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