Farofa is a delicious side for "feijoada" or black beans. Family recipes vary widely.
When I tried to find a good English translation for 'farofa' nothing worked for me. It is not stuffing and if you try to eat 'farofa' like you eat 'stuffing' you will choke and die. Well not really, but you will have a horrible mass of dry stuff in your mouth that you will not be able to swallow.
Farofa is better eaten with something 'soft and wet' like beans or any meat with lots of sauce.
There are many ways to make farofa. I like it with butter (lots of butter, OMG) and chopped onions only. Occasionally I add sultanas or raisins. You can also add chopped nuts if you like.
Farofa is made with 'manioc flour'.
In LA I can find it in Latino stores of course. The store I bought this manioc flour is called "El Gaucho Meat Market", in Redondo Beach. They have all sorts of things including the famous Brazilian soda called 'Guaraná'.
There is also an online store that sells this same Manioc Flour called Amigofoods. Click HERE to go to their site. They also have a wide variety of Brazilian ingredients and foods.
The brand Yoki you see below is actually the one I buy when I am in Brazil.
For each cup of farofa use 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup chopped onion.
Put the butter in a saucepan. Let the butter melt and sauté the chopped onion.
When the onion changes color add the manioc flour and salt, about 1 teaspoon salt. If you want to add sultanas and nuts add them now.
Stir all the time so the 'farofa' cooks and toasts equally. When the 'farofa' turns into a nice golden brown color take it out of the pan, otherwise it will continue to cook and the farofa at bottom will burn. The degree of 'golden brown' is very personal.
Here I am having 'farofa' as a side for chicken stew and rice.
Variation: If you like bacon: Fry the bacon in its own fat and when it's crispy, quickly remove the bacon from the pan and cut it into small pieces. Return the bits to the pan and add chopped onion. Then add the manioc flour and let it turn golden brown.
