Pão de Queijo, in the form of small balls, is a to-die-for appetizer. It is most popular in the state of Minas Gerais, where it is eaten like Americans eat rolls.Minas Gerais is known throughout Brazil for its cuisine, and there are places in other parts of Brazil where one can buy pão de queijo and other mineiras specialties. Any mineiro cook can make pão de queijo, and there are endless recipes and methods for it. Minas Gerais is also known for its cheeses; the Wisconsin of Brazil, if you wish.
Pão de queijo is extremely simple to make. Instead of wheat flour, tapioca starch is used. It's available from any Asian grocery store. One bag is enough for two batches, cost about $0.69. a bag. Care must be taken not to confuse this with the "fish eyes" tapioca (little white beads) available at American stores.
Working with tapioca starch is a lot like working with glue. Dry, it has the consistency of cornstarch. Wet, the tapioca starch is extremely gooey. It comes from the manioc plant which is heavily used in tropical areas not cool enough to grow wheat.
Many cheeses can be used for pão de queijo, as long as it is hard and can be finely grated. You can used cheeses like parmigiano reggiano, various Italian granas (like reggianito), Sardo (an Argentinian parmesan), domestic parmesan including Kraft in the green can, and even Provolone. You may have to vary the amount of cheese according to how salty it is.
After you make pão de queijo a few times, you'll develop certain preferences. For instance, I like them lightly browned, hot from the oven, when the skin is delicately crispy and the inside is gooey. On the other hand, some prefer them darker so that the crust is thicker, or cooled so that the inside is porous. You can also make them larger and use them like a dinner roll. For a dinner-size roll, you'll either have to add a little more tapioca starch to make the dough stiffer (easier to form the larger balls and will hold its shape better when baking) or use muffin tins.
Makes 2 dozen appetizer-sized balls.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil the following until white foam appears (on stove or in microwave):
½ cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup milk
(1 tsp salt optional)
Add this hot mixture to 2 cups tapioca starch. Mix well with wooden spoon and let rest for about 15 minutes. You will get white ball. Mix in 2 eggs and about 6 ounces grated hard cheese (e.g., parmesan). You will get a gooey, sticky mass.
To form balls, cover hands with grease, use a teaspoon and quickly roll into ball shape as best you can (they will smooth out during baking). Better yet, use a miniature ice-cream scoop. Each ball should be about 1-½ inch in diameter. Bake on lightly greased sheet or on parchment paper.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on size, until tops begin to brown.
