Feijoada

Brazilian "feijoada" with common side dishes

Feijoada (Portuguese pronunciation: [fejʒuˈada]) is a stew of beans with beef and pork, which is a typical dish in Portuguese and Brazilian Cuisine, is also typical in Angola, Mozambique, Goa, India and other former Portuguese colonies. In Brazil, feijoada is considered by many as the national dish. Feijoada 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 name comes from feijão, Portuguese for "beans".

Portuguese feijoada

The typical Portuguese feijoada à transmontana

The basic ingredients of Portuguese feijoada are beans and fresh pork or beef. In northwest Portugal (chiefly Minho and Douro Litoral), it is usually made with white beans; in the northeast (Trás-os-Montes), it is generally prepared with red (kidney) beans, and includes other vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots, and cabbage. The stew is best prepared over low heat in a thick clay pot.

Portuguese feijoada is usually served with rice and assorted sausages, such as chouriço, morcela (a blood sausage), farinheira, and others, which may or may not be cooked in the stew.

Brazilian feijoada

Recipe

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

This stew is best prepared over low 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 flavors of black bean and meat stew.

Ingredients

• 1 pound (450 grams) dry black beans
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 pound (450 grams) pork loin, cut into chunks
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 1 head of garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 pound (450 grams) carne seca or corned beef, cut into chunks
• 1/2 pound (225 grams) fresh sausages, such as chorizo or Italian sausage
• 1 pound (450 grams) smoked sausage, such as linguica or kielbasa
• 200 grams bacon
• 3-4 bay leaves
• Water
• Salt

Side dishes

In Brazil, feijoada is traditionally served with rice, and accompanied by chopped fried collard greens (couve mineira), lightly roasted coarse cassava flour (farofa) and peeled and sliced orange. Other common side dishes are boiled or deep-fried cassava, deep-fried bananas, and pork rinds (torresmo). A pot of hot pepper sauce is often provided on the side. The meal is often washed down with cachaça, caipirinha, or beer.

Tradition

Since it is a rather heavy dish that takes several hours to cook, feijoada is consumed in Brazil only occasionally, always at lunch time. Traditionally, restaurants will offer it as the "daily's special" only once or twice a week, usually on Wednesdays and Saturdays. However, some restaurants will serve feijoada all week long.

History

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.

Other recipes

Other former territories of the Portuguese Empire still retain the feijoada as a major typical dish of their respective cuisines. Angolan and São Tomean feijoadas add palm oil for flavouring.

See also

• Cassoulet
• Fabada Asturiana
• Baked beans
• List of Brazilian dishes

External links

• Feijoada: National Dish of Brazil
• Article on the origin of Brazilian feijoada.
• Feijoada recipes
• Brazilian feijoada recipe, adapted for U.S. kitchens
• Portuguese Feijoada