Our friend, Mariana Veiga sent us this recipe and we absolutely love it! Mari is from Brazil originally and now she and her husband and 5 year old son are living in Bled, Slovenia.
Mari used to be a lawyer but she wanted a more creative lifestyle (and one where she could travel) so she became a digital marketer and graphic designer. She believes in the concept of traveling with kids and, to promote that, she has a website – The Veigas. It’s written in Portuguese, but you can check her out on Facebook – www.facebook.com/theveigas and Instagram – http://instagram.com/the_veigas.
The Veigas have traveled extensively to many parts of the world including the Amazon and South Africa. In fact, we first interviewed Mari in 2017 when she was making cheese with nomads in Mongolia (click here). Then, they moved to Italy and while there, she sent us her recipe for a Brazilian treat called Brigadeiro (click here).
Now, they are happily settled in Slovenia and Mari is preparing to make cheese again.
She said you can use any cheese you wish with the recipe below, but the harder ones (like Parmesan) work better. She said you can eat them plain (the usual) or you can fill them with whatever you want (like jelly, ham, cream cheese, etc.). Thank you, Mari!
Mari’s Pao de Queijo
Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
2 oz. (1/2 stick or 4 Tbsps) butter
7 oz. (1 1/2 cups) polvilho azedo (This is a “sour starch,” made specifically for this bread and you can order it on Amazon – (click here). It is gluten-free. Or, you can substitute tapioca flour which is also gluten-free.)
7 oz. (2 cups) cheese (shredded)
1 egg
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 360F (180C).
Heat the milk with the butter until it starts to boil.
Pour the liquid into the polvilho and mix with a spoon until it is cool enough to use your hands (it will look like pie dough).
Add the cheese.
Add the egg.
Shape into small balls.
Bake until they become golden (35-40 minutes). (You can bake them in a mini-muffin pan if you want.)
