Pato no tucupi

Pato in tucupi is prepared in two stages. First the duck is seasoned and roasted; then it is cut and cooked in tucupi, the yellow acidic broth extracted from bitter cassava, with garlic, chicory and alfavaca (native basil). Finally the jambu leaves are added, which leave the mouth slightly numb. It is served with white rice and manioc flour.

Tucupi must be boiled for a long time before use because bitter cassava is toxic when raw. The dish combines an indigenous base —duck cooked in tucupi with flour and pepper— with techniques brought by the Portuguese, such as roasting the bird first and serving it with rice.

It is the lunch dish of the Círio de Nazaré, the major religious festival in Belém, on the second Sunday of October. On that day, families gather at home after the procession, and pato in tucupi shares the table with maniçoba. In the weeks beforehand, demand for duck, tucupi and jambu rises in the city's markets.

Pará includes pato in tucupi among the typical foods of its intangible cultural heritage and, by its own law, declared it intangible cultural heritage.

Outside the Círio, the dish appears year-round in restaurants serving Pará cuisine.