Banana da Terra

Parati is a small coastal town half way between Rio and Sao Paulo. Founded in 1667, Parati’s first heyday was in the late 17th Century and early 18th Century when it was the main port for gold and diamonds being shipped out of the state of Minas Gerais in the interior of the country, as it was the only place that the mountains between the coast and the interior could be scaled. The town’s simple colonial architecture is a testament to the glory that it lived during the early days of the gold rush. However, by the early 1720s it fell into disuse due to the construction of a road between Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais which cut fifteen days transportation time off the Minas – Parati route. Somewhat revived during the coffee boom, Parati is now living through its second heyday, the advent of tourism, aided by the 1954 construction of an access road from Rio. Aside from the colonial architecture, Parati is also a perfect base to discover the beaches, islands, and bays that surround it. It is also home to many fine restaurants.

Mark and I spent a couple of days in Parati last week and had a great time exploring both the town and the beaches. One evening we ate at Banana da Terra, a terrific little restaurant that incorporates bananas into all of its dishes - or as the Fuja guide states "uses and abuses". We chose Banana da Terra since it was one of the restaurants that included an eggplant dish in the Boa Lembrança cookbook. Hoping to try one of the dishes, we headed to Banana only to discover that the recipes were in fact exclusively produced for the book and were not available to order. Quite sad, but not to worry, we ended up ordering other rather exquisite dishes despite the fact that there was not an eggplant to be seen. Of the two dishes that we ordered, I will immodestly have to say that mine was probably the tastier and more elaborate of the two – two intact squid, stuffed with, you guessed it, bananas and cheese and then smothered in a shrimp, tomato and coconut milk sauce with a side of rice. Possibly one of the best things that I have ever eaten!! Now to see if I can just recreate it ....