Pernambuco cuisine in Porto de Galinhas
Pernambuco cuisine was born from a mix of African, Indigenous and European influences. In Porto de Galinhas, the table brings together seafood and regional dishes such as carne de sol (salted, sun-dried beef), macaxeira (cassava), queijo coalho (a firm cheese for grilling), tapioca (a cassava-starch crepe) and caldinho de feijão (bean broth served in a cup), as well as sweets such as bolo de rolo (a thin rolled cake with guava filling) and cartola.
From the sea
Fish, shrimp, lobster, clams, octopus, oysters, crab and guaiamum (a blue land crab) are among the ingredients of Pernambuco cuisine. Traditional dishes include peixada (fish stew) and guaiamum com pirão (guaiamum with a thick porridge of cassava flour and broth). In the restaurants of the Vila (the village center of Porto de Galinhas) and Maracaípe, there are house dishes with octopus and with shrimp.
Breakfast and regional dishes
A Pernambuco breakfast includes tapioca with coconut or queijo de coalho, cuscuz de milho (steamed cornmeal), macaxeira, inhame (yam), sweet potato and banana comprida (a cooking plantain), served with charque (dried salted beef) fried with onion or roasted carne de sol. At lunch, besides the fish dishes, there are galinha de cabidela (chicken in a sauce made with its own blood), sarapatel (pork offal stew), cozido (meat and vegetable stew) and buchada (goat tripe stew). Queijo de manteiga (butter cheese) or grilled queijo de coalho with mel de engenho (sugarcane syrup) is also served as dessert. In Porto de Galinhas, the most popular starter is caldinho de feijão.
Heritage sweets
Bolo Souza Leão (a cassava cake), bolo de rolo and cartola are registered as intangible heritage of Pernambuco. Bolo de rolo, recognized by state law, is said to be an adaptation of the Portuguese colchão de noiva, with guava in place of the almond filling, according to researcher Maria Lecticia Cavalcanti, and it has its own day: May 17. In the Vila, it is sold at stalls and local-products shops on Rua Beijupirá. Cartola, made of fried banana with cheese, sugar and cinnamon, has its own page: Cartola.