Next Saturday (4), at 12 pm, the historic city of São Luiz do Paraitinga (SP) repeats a century-old gastronomic tradition — the free distribution of drowned, beef stew that represents one of the highlights of the Festa do Divino.
The 15 giant iron pots, some up to 2 meters in diameter, give an idea of the size of the population’s appetite, which begins to line up hours before — plates and cutlery are taken from home.
In the recipe, the meat, sautéed in onions and garlic, cooks in broth with potatoes, but it also appears in a version with pasta. Those who prefer can still eat only the drowned with rice and manioc flour.
The preparation, which starts at 9 pm the night before, is in charge of 70 volunteers, under the coordination of Luís Claudio da Cunha Saad and his wife, Suelen Bonafé, the official party-goers. Elected a year before, they are the ones who organize all the religious, cultural and gastronomic programming of the festival.
“It takes three people to load each empty large pot,” says Saad, with a hint of the complexity of the task.
More than food, the drowned represents a blessing for the local population.
“The ingredients are donated by the people, who understand this food as a communion. They believe so much in its healing power that they take portions to convalescents who cannot move”, explains Ricardo Mendes Mattos, a researcher of caipira culture and resident of the city.
The first records of the drowned man associated with the Festa do Divino de São Luiz do Paraitinga date back to the 1910s. But a lot has changed in more than a century — a trajectory that will be the subject of the experience promoted by the Lano-Alto farm, located in Catuçaba, district municipality’s countryside.
“Today, the sanitary bureaucracy prevents donated ingredients from being used in the recipe. Party-goers are forced to sell them and, with the money, buy others in the market”, says Peèle Lemos, from Lano-Alto.
In a new space on the property, a mix of events shed and dormitory, he and chef Rafa Bocaina will receive a group of 15 people for a complete experience, which starts with conversation circles, goes through the tasting of a drowned person and ends in the party.
Chefs Ivan Ralston and Bel Coelho have already confirmed their presence.
The duo Peèle and Bocaina promises to reproduce the recipe from the old days, when all the beef cuts went to the pot. “With this, the broth incorporated collagen and fat and was thicker and more flavorful. The oldest do not even recognize the current recipe as drowned”, says Peéle.
Anyone who can’t be in São Luiz do Paraitinga this weekend can prepare the drowned at home, there’s no mystery. Who teaches the recipe is chef Heloísa Bacellar, a resident of the city and a fan of the dish since she was a child.
drowned
Yield: 6 servings
INGREDIENTS
200 g of diced bacon.
Oil to taste.
1 large chopped onion.
2 minced garlic cloves.
1 chopped red pepper.
4 tomatoes, skinned and seeded, chopped
2 kg of titty in 2 cm cubes.
3 liters of boiling water.
1 bay leaf.
Salt to taste.
Black pepper to taste.
½ cup fresh herbs (mint leaves, basil, parsley and chives).
6 ripe, unpeeled bananas.
3 cups of raw cassava flour.
Red pepper sauce to taste.
PREPARATION
In a large pan, brown the bacon in the oil, add the onion, garlic, pepper and tomato and sauté until wilted. Add the meat and let it brown.
Add the boiling water, bay leaf, salt and pepper. When it boils, remove the foam from the surface, lower the heat and cook for 3 hours, until the meat is falling apart. Add the herbs and serve steaming, with manioc flour and pepper sauce.
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
