Paçoca

Ingredients

Peanuts

• 500 graw shelled peanuts

Also

• 150 gcassava flour, farinha de mandioca, or 100 g cream crackers, crushed
• 200 gsugar
• 1 tspsalt

Optional

• 50 gbutter, for a richer bar

Equipment

• a mortar and pestle, or a food processor
• a tray or moulds

Directions

1. Roast the raw peanuts in a dry pan or in a 160°C oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and fragrant. Roast them yourself rather than buying roasted.
2. Let them cool, then rub them between your palms or in a cloth to remove the papery skins. Take the skins off properly.
3. Work in short bursts and stop often to check. Ground too far, the peanuts release their oil and turn to peanut butter, and there is no going back.
4. Add the cassava flour and pulse briefly to combine. The cassava flour is there to absorb the oil and keep the mixture dry and crumbly, which is exactly what a paçoca should be.
5. Taste it and adjust the salt, which should be clearly present rather than a background note. The salt against the sweetness is what stops it being cloying, and under-salted paçoca is bland.
6. Press the mixture very firmly into a tray or into small moulds. Press it hard, harder than feels necessary. Chill for an hour to firm it up. Cut it into bars or squares with a sharp knife, and expect some crumbling, which is normal.
7. Wrap each piece in greaseproof paper or cling film, twisted at both ends. Wrapping them individually is how they are sold and it keeps them from drying out.

Technique

• The texture should be dry and crumbling, dissolving in the mouth rather than chewing.
• It is crumbled over ice cream and stirred into cakes and brigadeiros across Brazil.
• Salted peanuts can be used, in which case leave out the added salt.

Substitutions

• Crushed cream crackers or maria biscuits in place of cassava flour.
• Ready-roasted unsalted peanuts, which saves ten minutes.

Variations

• Paçoca rolha, pressed into the traditional cylinder.
• With condensed milk, for a softer fudgy bar.
• The savoury north-eastern paçoca de carne seca.

History

Made by the Indigenous pacoca technique of pounding in a mortar; a fixture of Festa Junina beside canjica and pamonha.

Frequently asked questions

What is Paçoca?

Paçoca is a dessert from Brazil: crumbly bar of ground peanuts and sugar, eaten at the June festivals. Made by the Indigenous pacoca technique of pounding in a mortar; a fixture of Festa Junina beside canjica and pamonha.

How long does Paçoca take to make?

Paçoca takes 20 min plus 1 hr setting of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 20 bars. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Paçoca?

Yes, within limits. Crushed cream crackers or maria biscuits in place of cassava flour. Ready-roasted unsalted peanuts, which saves ten minutes.

What is the most important thing to get right in Paçoca?

Roast the raw peanuts in a dry pan or in a 160°C oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden and fragrant. Roast them yourself rather than buying roasted.