Romeu e Julieta is a plate of sliced fresh cheese with sliced goiabada. Goiabada is guava paste: a dense fruit block, not jelly and not a Mediterranean quince paste. It shows up after a backyard fire the way a fruit-and-cheese plate does. You put it out when the last meat comes off. There is no pot to watch.
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The paste and the cheese
When you go to a Mexican or Brazilian market, ask for goiabada. The firm block (em barra) slices clean. The soft tin (cremosa) is for spreading, not for this plate. Guava jelly and membrillo (quince paste) are other pastes.
The usual cheese is queijo minas, a mild fresh cow’s-milk cheese from Minas Gerais. Queijo minas padrão is firmer and slices. Queijo minas frescal is wetter. Queijo fresco is the same idea. In a US store buy mild farmer cheese, fresh mozzarella, or queso fresco. Halloumi is the wrong cheese here; that one is for the grate.
Ingredients (one platter, 6 to 8 people)
- 14 oz (400 g) firm goiabada (guava paste), the block
- 14 oz (400 g) queijo minas padrão or queijo fresco (mild farmer cheese, fresh mozzarella, or queso fresco)
Equal weight of paste and cheese is enough. You can bake the stacks if you want the cheese soft. That is optional. The usual backyard plate is cold slices.
Method
- Chill the goiabada 20 minutes if it is soft. It cuts cleaner that way.
- Slice the cheese about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick. Slice the goiabada the same thickness.
- Stack one slice of cheese and one slice of goiabada, or lay them side by side on a plate. Either way is home style.
- If you want it warm, set the stacks in a baking dish and heat at 350°F (175°C) until the cheese just softens, 8 to 12 minutes. No brown crust needed.
How you know it’s done
The usual backyard plate is cold slices. If you bake the stacks, the cheese just softens.
After a churrasco
Put the plate out after the meat, not next to the vinagrete. Cafezinho sits with it. Guaraná, juice, or water is fine if people are still drinking. Leftover goiabada keeps in the fridge, wrapped.
What to buy
The firm block of goiabada is the one thing you may have to order. The usual mid is the bar to slice first.
- Low: Goya Guava Paste — the named block most Latin stores keep.
- Usual mid: Predilecta goiabada em barra — the Brazilian bar for this plate.
- High: Predilecta goiabada cascão — a firmer, darker block if you want a stronger guava taste.
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