Cajuzinho (almond fudge)
My grandma left Italy in her early twenties to move to Brazil with her fiancé, my grandad. My grandad never stepped foot in Italy again, my grandma only went back a few times.
Although my grandma’s accent still has strong italian vowels, she has immersed herself into the culture of her adopted country. She loves having papaya for breakfast, tends to her own jabuticaba trees and watches telenovelas. Her cooking has retained strong Italian roots, but most of her original recipes now often take typical Brazilian ingredients.
I am now going through that same process, like her I moved to England still young, and I rejected the culture when I first arrived, but after a while I hated being and outsider. I made a big effort to refine the British accent, watch local shows, read the news, ask questions (beans for breakfast?!?!?). I now get the dry sense of humour and how to add just the right amount of milk to breakfast tea.
I am now going through that same process, like her I moved to England still young, and I rejected the culture when I first arrived, but after a while I hated being and outsider. I made a big effort to refine the British accent, watch local shows, read the news, ask questions (beans for breakfast?!?!?). I now get the dry sense of humour and how to add just the right amount of milk to breakfast tea.
A lot of natives now tell me they wouldn’t even be able to tell I wasn’t English, if it wasn’t for my looks. You would think that after 16 years of effort I would consider this a compliment, but it actually makes me sad. Being here for 16 years means that soon I will have lived in this adopted country for longer than I have lived in my motherland.
It makes me sad because although I love England, I feel 100% Brazilian, and I am terrified that this identity will slip away from me. This saudade of my country has made me binge on telenovelas, music and childhood sweets lately (thanks, Amazon).
As the Olympics are a week away, hosted in The Wonderful City, I have decided to share some of my favourite throwback foods for the next month.
Although cajuzinho means little cashew, the treat doesn’t actually take any cashew nuts, the name is because it is shaped like the fruit. The original takes peanuts but I changed the recipe and added almonds instead. I can only describe it as a fudge-like treat, however with a softer yet chewy consistency.
Cajuzinho (yields around 30)
1 can of condensed milk (405g)
1 tbsp butter, plus more for greasing
1 1/2 cup of almonds
Granulated sugar
1. Leave to one side 4 or 5 almonds, blitz the rest without making it a fine powder – leave a few small clumps
2. Add the condensed milk, butter and almonds to a pan over medium heat. Let it bubble for 10 minutes, stirring constantly
3. Pour it onto a plate and let it chill until it reaches room temperature, then let it chill in the fridge for around 1 hour
4. Place around 1/2 cup of sugar on a separate plate
5. Grease your hands with a little butter and make little balls
6. Roll them around the sugar until covered
7. Cut the whole almonds into small pieces and use as garnish
