Farofa is buttery toasted cassava flour served in Brazil as an accompaniment to soups, stews and salads.
Cassava flour is finely ground yucca that has been a staple in Brazilian diets since Portuguese settlers first arrived in the Amazon region. Yucca is a wonderful source of vitamin C and antioxidants, so it has been included in the Brazilian diet for good reason.
Let’s get started…
Begin by gathering 2 strips of bacon, 2 tablespoons of butter, 1 small grated yellow onion, 2 cloves of finely minced garlic, 1 1/2 cups of cassava flour and salt and black pepper.
Be sure to grab cassava flour and not cassava starch to make farofa with. Cassava starch is a super fine powder similar to confectioners sugar or cornstarch, but cassava flour has a fine granular consistency that toasts up beautifully.
Begin by crisping up 2 strips of bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Transfer the bacon onto some paper towels, but leave the grease in the skillet.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter and as soon as it melts down, add the grated onion and minced garlic and cook while stirring for about 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle the cassava flour over the entire skillet and stir until everything is evenly distributed.
Cook the farofa until the cassava flour has dried out a bit and is lightly toasted throughout.
Season your farofa with some sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper and transfer into a bowl or airtight container.
It can be chilled for up to 5 days, but I do find that the texture is best same day.
Farofa should be salty and toasted with flavors of the butter, garlic and bacon throughout. It is a wonderful topping to add to soups, salads and of course Brazils national dish… feijoada.
Farofa
Ingredients
- 2 strips of bacon
- 2 tablespoons of butter
- 1 small yellow onion, grated
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
- 1 1/2 cups of cassava flour
- sea salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Place 2 strips of bacon into a skillet over medium heat
- Cook until the bacon is crisp and then transfer the bacon onto a plate and set aside
- Add 2 tablespoons of butter into the bacon fat and once it has melted, add the finely minced garlic and onions and cook until softened and fragrant
- Sprinkle the cassava flour over the skillet and cook while stirring constantly until lightly toasted (3-4 minutes)
- Season with salt and black pepper to taste
