Certain food can just fill your stomach, and certain food can fill your heart. This is what Virado a Paulista does. This comforting rustic dish of the city of São Paulo can be referred to as more than just a traditional meal, essentially a living folk part of the Brazilian heritage that is served two-fold with love and affection
Sometimes it could be seen that the plate may be busy with too much in it to the observer at first sight-rice, beans, fried pork chop, collard greens, banana, egg… even a dash of farofa. However, there is a time and a place for everything, and each of these things adds texture, flavour and remembrance. It is not a fine dining establishment. It’s home
A Little History on the Side
Virado is the word used to describe the turning or mixing of beans and rice, and the term indicated how farmers, cowhands and travellers stirred the beans and rice in the same pot in colonial Brazil. This simple diner food transformed over time, and particularly in the state of Paulista, into the much-loved full plate that now exists, Virado ao Paulista
It was the food of working hands-safe, solid and tasty. It was, however, more than that: representing the abundant and the diverse meals in the city of São Paulo, with the influence of the Afro-Brazilian culture, the Portuguese and the Indigenous cultures.
Ingredients
Virado a Paulista is a beauty of flexibility. This is what you will need:
- Cooked white rice 2 cups (left-over rice is fine)
- Cooked brown or pinto beans – 1½ cups (black beans are okay too)
- Garlic – 2–3 cloves, minced
- Salt and black pepper – to taste
- Pork chops – 2 medium, bone-in preferred
- Garlic for pork – 1 clove, crushed
- Ripe plantains or bananas – 1–2, firm and sweet
- Eggs 2, a fresh one wanted
- Collard greens- 1 bunch washed and thinly sliced (use kale or mustard greens- substitutes)
- farofa facultative, to pour over (manioc toasted flour; do not use, if not on hand)
- Oil or butter – as needed, for frying
When to Make It
Virado a Paulista is a traditional Sunday meal, which one would eat at grandma’s when the family is all there. But it is also the best when you really need something soulful, filling and somewhat nostalgic. Just enjoy it on a holiday, a family gathering or even when it is a rainy weekday day and you need comfort
Instructions
Step 1: In a skillet, add a little oil and saute the minced garlic. Sauté over medium flame until it has turned golden and sweet. Add beans to the pan that you cooked. Use a spoon, but squash only a little portion of the beans to make the concoction thick
And add the cooked rice, and stir round all, till it gets warm. Recipe with a pinch of black pepper and salt. Leave it on a hot burner
Step 2 : Chop the plantains diagonally or into lengthways.Heat a little oil or butter over the small skillet
Place them on a sheet of paper towel to remove excess oils.Deep fry the slices of the plantain till they have become caramel-brown and have grown a bit crunchy on the edges
Step 3 : Put salt, pepper and crushed garlic on the pork chops and rub. Let them rest for a few minutes.Heat a larger skillet with a bit of oil, and once it’s hot, place the chops in
Cook for about 3–4 minutes on each side, until golden brown and juicy inside. Don’t overcook — you want them tender.
Step 4 : Clean and chop your greens into small thin pieces.Heat some oil in a clean pan and then put the greens
Toss them in boiling water just until they go limp and glow like bright green. Season lightly
Step 5 : Put the eggs in a lightly oil pan and fry sunny-side up
You want the edges slightly crisp and the yolk still runny — it ties everything together beautifully on the plate
Step 6 : Slap a scoop of rice and beans on every plate—this isn’t a suggestion, it’s the law.Lay the pork chop alongside
Place some fried plantain and a spoonful of sautee greens.Gently top with the fried egg
If you have farofa, now’s the time to sprinkle it across the plate for crunch and extra soul
Precautions
- Don’t overcook the pork – Dry pork ruins the dish. Keep it juicy!
- Not over-ripe bananas- Too mushy and they will be pulverized
- The greens are not to be omitted- They provide a freshness as well as opposition to all the richness
Season everything as you go – It’s not a single-flavor dish. Every part should sing.
Serving Tips
Virado de Paulista should be served fresh, in the warmth of good company around the table and with them stories to tell. To risk it all, put on the side a slice of orange or some spicy vinegar poured over the greens. Other families include sausages or pork belly, do what you want.
More About Virado de Paulista
It is not the perfection dish. It is about sharing, comfort and gathering people. and after one forkful, of rice and pork and a taste of banana, you will comprehend why this plate has been so near the heart of São Paulo.
