Páscoa - Easter

Feliz Páscoa!

At the heart of every South American celebration is the idea of bringing people together, sharing the best things in life: delicious food, quality wines and most importantly, each other’s company.

With a prevalence of Christianity within Brazilian culture, Easter in Brazil (known as Páscoa) begins with Holy Week (Semana Santa), which sees a large number of fiestas and gatherings to celebrate to the resurrection of Christ.

Easter Sunday, marks the end of Lent and sees the congregation of families and friends, though unlike many other traditional celebratory dinners with succulent grilled meats as the protagonist, Easter sees a feast centered around fish. Bacalhau (salted cod) features heavily at the Brazilian table during the religious festival, served in a variation of ways; with salads or in a stew with potatoes, known as ‘bacalhoada'.

No Easter would be the same without the indulgence of the finest chocolate in the form of Easter eggs to satiate the sweet tooth. However in Brazil, the traditional candy Paçoca de Amendoim made from ground peanuts, sugar and cassava flour is a firm favourite (so much so, it's put inside Easter eggs too!).  With a combination of sweet and savoury flavours on the tastebuds, the dessert is the perfect ending to the Easter feast.

Want to experiment with your own Bacalhoada? You can find our favourite recipe via Saveur here.

Feliz Páscoa, Fazendeiros!