Escondidinho de Carne Seca

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large bowl for soaking
• •Heavy 4-liter pot for the carne seca
• •Medium pot for the cassava
• •Wide sauté pan
• •Potato masher or sturdy fork
• •2-quart baking dish

Instructions

1. 1

   Desalt the meat

   Put the carne seca chunks in a large bowl and cover with plenty of cold water. Refrigerate for 12 hours, changing the water 3 or 4 times. This is not fussiness. Carne seca is preserved with salt, and if you don't pull that salt out slowly, the dish will taste like the sea got angry in your baking dish.

   The honest shortcut: cut the carne seca smaller and simmer it for 10 minutes, drain, and repeat once before the full cooking. It helps when a Tuesday is a Tuesday, but the overnight soak gives a better, more even result.
2. 2

   Cook until shreddable

   Drain the soaked carne seca, put it in a pot, cover with fresh water by 2 inches, and simmer until the meat pulls apart easily with two forks, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Taste a small piece near the end. It should be savory, not punishing. Drain, let it cool just enough to handle, and shred it with your fingers or two forks.

3. 3

   Cook the cassava

   While the meat cooks, put the cassava in another pot and cover with water. Add 1 teaspoon salt and simmer until the pieces are very tender and split at the edges, about 25 to 35 minutes. Cassava must be cooked past polite firmness. If the fork doesn't slide through without a fight, your purê will be lumpy and you'll blame yourself instead of the clock.

4. 4

   Mash the purê

   Drain the cassava well and pull out any tough center cords you still see. Mash it hot with the butter, then stir in the warm milk a little at a time and add the cream or requeijão. The purê should be thick, creamy, and spreadable, not loose like soup. Warm milk keeps the mash smooth; cold milk makes the starch tighten up and sulk.

5. 5

   Build the refogado

   Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, sweet-smelling, and see-through, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic for 1 minute, just until you smell it. This base is where the flavor starts, and burnt garlic is bitter enough to follow you through the whole dish.

6. 6

   Refogar the carne seca

   Add the shredded carne seca to the pan and cook, stirring, until it catches little browned edges, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and black pepper and cook until the tomato softens and disappears into the meat, about 3 minutes. You want juicy refogada meat, not dry stuffing, so stop when the pan looks glossy and smells like dinner.

7. 7

   Finish the filling

   Turn off the heat and stir in the parsley or cilantro. Taste before adding more salt, because carne seca keeps some salt even after soaking. Adjust only if it needs it. This is how a gente cooks with preserved meat: taste first, season second, avoid drama.

8. 8

   Assemble the dish

   Heat the oven to 400°F. Butter a 2-quart baking dish. Spread half the cassava purê on the bottom, spoon the carne seca filling over it, then cover with the rest of the purê. Spread gently with the back of a spoon so the meat stays hidden and the top stays even. Even thickness means even heat, and even heat means no cold middle pretending to be done.

9. 9

   Gratinar until golden

   Scatter the grated cheese over the top and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges bubble and the cheese turns golden in spots. If you want more color, put it under the broiler for 1 to 2 minutes and watch it like a hawk. Cheese goes from dourado to burnt while you answer one message.

10. 10

    Rest and serve

    Let the escondidinho rest for 10 minutes before serving. It should scoop cleanly but still look creamy. Resting lets the cassava settle around the filling, so you get a spoonful of purê and carne seca together instead of a landslide. Serve with arroz, feijão, and couve refogada if you want the full pê-efe doing its job.

Chef Tips

• •Desalt properly. Carne seca is delicious because it was preserved with salt, but that same salt will bully the whole dish if you rush it. Soak, change the water, taste after cooking.
• •Buy cassava that looks firm and white inside, with no grey streaks and no sour smell. Tired cassava makes tired purê. Then we cook something else, because I won't let a sad root vegetable make you think the recipe failed.
• •Requeijão makes the purê softer and more Brazilian-home-kitchen creamy. Cream works too. A little milk and butter alone will do the job, but the texture will be less lush.
• •No seasoning packet. The carne seca, onion, garlic, tomato, and herbs are enough. A packet gives you salt pretending to be a plan.
• •Make it ahead without shame. Assemble the dish, cover, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. Bake it a little longer from cold, until the edges bubble and the center is hot.
• •Serve it with something green. Couve refogada is perfect: hot pan, oil, garlic for a few seconds, sliced couve just until bright and wilted. The plate needs that freshness.

Advance Preparation

• •Start desalting the carne seca 12 hours ahead, changing the water 3 or 4 times.
• •The carne seca can be cooked and shredded up to 2 days ahead. Keep it covered in the fridge.
• •The cassava purê can be made 1 day ahead. Rewarm gently with a splash of milk before spreading if it firms up.
• •The assembled escondidinho keeps covered in the fridge for up to 24 hours before baking.
• •Baked leftovers keep 3 days in the fridge and reheat best covered in a moderate oven.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 390g)