Empadão

By Lucas Brum
Posted on Cowbird on November 20, 2013

It’s a sunny Sunday morning in July. Around 10 a.m., I wake up to the sound of fast-paced Brazilian music coming from the kitchen. This is normal when my father is making Sunday lunch, or almost any other meal during the week.

I get myself out of bed to see what my father is making. I was expecting him to make something that he commonly makes: chicken or a certain cut of pork, among others. In the summer he’ll grill chicken wings, sausages, ribs. This morning, he was going to grill some sausages and chicken wings. But before that, he was making a dish that he doesn’t make very often. And it happened to be my favorite dish.

Empadão de frango.

A dish that is popular in Brazil, it is very similar to a chicken potpie. He takes chicken breasts and puts it through the meat grinder. He takes the ground chicken puts in a large pot and mixes it with chopped garlic, onions, green peas, green olives, tomato sauces, and a few other ingredients. After the chicken cooks, he puts it in a baking pan that is lined with dough he made from scratch. He tops it off with more dough and puts it in the oven for about 40 minutes. After it has cooked and cooled, I cut out a small square piece.

I take my first bite. The combination of flavors creates an eating experience that is second to none. The chicken, garlic, onions, peas, green olives, and other ingredients are a match made in heaven. I compliment the empadão with white rice and wash it all down with an ice cold Coke.

My mom and brother come into the kitchen to get a piece. They enjoy it as much as I do. We compliment my father on a job well done. He jokes that he's the best cook in the family, but I have to agree with him. 

Not only does the empadão bring satisfaction to our taste buds, it brings us together as a family.