Snacks

My great (late) friend, famed newspaperman Johnny Apple, has written that these fritters are found in abundance from lacey white dressed street vendors on the streets of Bahía and in particular from the colonial district called the “Pelourinho,” whose very name is a reminder of harsher days; pelourinho means “flogging post” in Portuguese. These snacks are often served with a somewhat complex Brazilian sauce called vatapá but I have stuffed them with an equally delicious crab salad.

This makes a wonderful hors d’oeuvre or lunch pie and is especially good when paired with a cornmeal crust, as we have done here, though a butter or lard crust is an excellent choice, too. The filling puffs as it bakes and becomes a lovely light gold. If you cannot find farmer cheese, ricotta cheese or cottage cheese can be substituted.

While these bison-stuffed chicken wings require a little more effort than other wing recipes, they are well worth it. The pistachio adds an addictive crunchy quality. One taste of these smoked and stuffed wings and you too will agree that these impressive crowd-pleasers are worth the extra time in the kitchen.