Brazilian Romeu e Julieta Recipe
Romeu e Julieta is traditional Brazilian confection made with cheese and guava paste. In its most basic form, the cheese and paste are cut into small pieces and eaten together for instance, cubed on a toothpick. It is served as a snack or party food.
The cheese used for Romeu e Julieta is a fresh style cheese, meaning an unaged white cheese with a mild but sometimes salty flavor. It’s a crumbly cheese meant to be eaten cold as it does not cook well. Brazilians use canastras or minas fresh cheeses names after the regions where they are produced.
The guava paste is known as goiabada. The paste is thick enough that it is sold in a block and can be sliced. It is also known as guava cheese, though it does not contain any actual cheese.
Romeu e Julieta is incorporated in many other desserts such as ice cream and cakes, as a filling for empanadas and even on pizza.
Origin & Cultural Significance
Romeu e Julieta originates from Brazil, made popular there by an advertisement campaign for the goiabada, the guava paste. It was in this commercial from the 1960’s that Julieta, the guava was paired with Romeu, the cheese and referred to as Romeo and Juliet.
Though the cheese and guava pairing were already popular in other countries like Puerto Rico, guava cheese was introduced to Brazil by the Portuguese who made a similar food from quince fruit, back in Portugal.
Brazilian Romeu e Julieta Recipe
Romeu e Julieta is traditional Brazilian confection made with cheese and guava paste. In its most basic form, the cheese and paste are cut into small pieces and eaten together for instance, cubed on a toothpick.
Ingredients
- Queso Fresco (or similar cheese) - 10 oz.
- Guava paste - 10 oz.
Instructions
- Slice the cheese and guava paste into evenly sized pieces, about 1 inch.
- Stack the slices on toothpicks or simply serve the slices on a platter.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 104Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 213mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 6g
Nutrition is provided and calculated by Nutritionix. It is for general information purposes and is only a rough estimation.
