Brazilian Feijoada

Feijoada is a stew of beans with beef and pork, which is a typical Portuguese dish, also typical in Brazil, Angola and other former Portuguese colonies. In Brazil, feijoada is considered the national dish, which was brought to South America by the Portuguese, based in ancient Feijoada recipes from the Portuguese regions of Beira, Estremadura, and Trás-os-Montes.

The Brazilian feijoada is prepared with black turtle beans, with a variety of salted pork and beef products, such as salted pork trimmings (ears, tail, feet), bacon, smoked pork ribs, at least two types of smoked sausage and jerked beef (loin and tongue).

This stew is best prepared over slow fire in a thick clay pot. The final dish has the beans and meat pieces barely covered by a dark purplish-brown broth. The taste is strong, moderately salty but not spicy, dominated by the flavours of black bean and meat stew.

A popular myth states that the Brazilian feijoada was a "luxury" dish of African slaves on Brazilian colonial farms (engenhos), as it was prepared with relatively cheap ingredients (beans, rice, collard greens, farofa) and leftovers from salted pork and meat production. Over time, it first became a popular dish among lower classes, and finally the "national dish" of Brazil, offered even by the finest restaurants.

However, historians like Luís da Câmara Cascudo consider that feijoada is a Brazilian version of stews from Southern European countries like France (cassoulet), Spain, Italy and, of course, Portugal. Traditional Portuguese bean-and-pork dishes (cozidos) like those from the regions of Estremadura and Trás-os-Montes are the ancestors of Brazilian feijoada. The earliest printed references to the dish appeared in the mid-19th century, based on menus of upper-class, urban restaurants.

Feijoada Recipe

Ingredients:

• 4 1/4 lbs black beans 
• 1 1/4 lbs dried beef 
• 1 lb salt cured pork 
• 1 lb bacon 
• 1 lb smoked sausage 
• 6 pieces dried sausage 
• 1 piece smoked beef tongue 
• 2 pigs ears 
• 2 pigs tail (or equal amount of ox tail) 
• 2 pigs trotters 
• 1 large chopped onion 
• 1 medium chopped onlion 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 6 cloves garlic 
• 3 bay leaves 
• oranges 
• hot peppers 
• rice, manioc, couscous or fried, shredded kale

How to cook it

Place beans and salted meats in separate bowls. Cover each with water. Keep covered with water for 24 hours; but change water every 6 hours. Put all of the ingredients into a very large cooking pan and cover with water. Add ½ orange, 3 bay leaves, 1 medium chopped onion and pepper. Cook everything over a low heat and gradually withdraw the meats as they are cooked to prevent them from becoming too soft. In a separate pan heat a tablespoon of soybean oil and fry the 6 cloves of garlic and the large chopped onion. Pour into the beans and mix well. Temporarily remove a cup of the beans and crush with a wooden spoon to thicken the sauce. Serve with white rice, manioc or fried, shredded kale along with hot peppers

© Text and image: Wikipedia / Recipe: www.world-recipes.info