Feijoada

The most famous Brazilian dish,
feijoada, is a truly national food
that can be found in restaurants
ranging from the most expensive
to the simplest. There are as many
versions as there are chefs, and
each uses different, locally-sourced
ingredients in addition to the black
bean base.

There are some restaurants that specialize in feijoada, and those serve it every
day, some even 24 hours a day! In most restaurants, however, feijoada is usually
served for lunch on Saturdays; because, as everyone knows, “You cannot work
after a feijoada.”

The original dish is very heavy and the ingredients, which usually include 10 to 15
cuts of pork and air dried beef (jerky), are hard to find outside of Brazil. It is always
served with sides of steamed long grain rice; collard greens or kale that is cut in thin
strips and sautéed quickly in olive oil; and orange slices. And of course, no feijoada
meal is complete without a caipirinha to drink.

In this recipe, I created a lighter version that is easier to prepare and that uses
ingredients that are easy to find in most American supermarkets.

FEIJOADA “LIGHT”
Serves: 10-15 people

INGREDIENTS (see picture):
2 lbs black beans
1 lb Smoked sausage
1 lb Chorizo sausage
2 smoked pork hocks
½ slab pork ribs
2 large onions, finely chopped
10 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 bay leaves
Black pepper & salt to taste

NOTE: Taste before adding any salt as the sausages can be very salty!

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Using a large pot, add the washed beans and the meats (keep the meats whole to
facilitate removing from the pot, as they each cook in different lengths of time).
Cover ingredients with cold water. Bring water to a boil. Lower to a simmer, and let
cook for one and a half hours.

As the meats cook, remove them from the pot and let them cool in a separate
container. Continue cooking the beans until they are done but still firm.

In a separate pan, sauté the onions, garlic and bay leaves in a little vegetable oil.
When the onions turn glassy, add mixture to beans.

Remove the bones out of the pork hocks and cut meat into quarters. Cut the
chorizo and sausages into pieces about two inches thick. Cut the ribs individually.
Add all the cut meats to the beans and finish cooking all ingredients together for
about 15 minutes. Taste first, then add salt & pepper, if desired. If the stew is too
thin, let it cook a bit more to thicken it up, so that it is thick, not watery.