How To Make A Feijoada

Feiojoada is a traditional Brazilian dish, which was brought to South America by the Portuguese. In fact, ‘feijao’ is the Portuguese name for ‘beans’. There is a myth about this dish that lays down ‘feiojada’ was a luxury dish for the African slaves who worked on the colonial farms of Brazil, because it was prepared with relatively cheap ingredients and leftovers from salted pork. Gradually, the dish gained popularity among the lower classes of Brazil and eventually, became the national dish of the country. Today, feijoada is served even in the finest restaurants of Brazil. The article brings you the recipe of this famous Brazilian dish. Read on to know how to make a feijoada.

Brazilian Feijoada Recipe

Ingredients

6 pieces Bacon (chopped)
6 Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 cup Onion (chopped)
2 cans Black Beans (26 oz. each)
1 can Black Bean Soup
1 Bay Leaf
15 can Chopped Tomatoes (1/2 ounce each can)
3-4 Oranges (sliced)
1 bunch Collard Greens (for garnishing)
1 tsp Salt
White Rice

Method

Place a large saucepan over medium heat, to prepare the meats. Fry the bacon in the pan until it becomes crisp. Remove the bacon from the pan and place it over a paper towel, to drain excess oil.
Now, add bacon, garlic and onions to the pan and sauté them till the onion begins to become transparent.
Add black beans, bean soup and half a cup of water to onion-garlic mixture. Bring it to boil and once the boiling point is reached, reduce the flame to medium heat.
Add bay leaves and chopped tomatoes to the mixture and let it simmer for 20 minutes, without covering it. Your feijoada is now ready to be teamed up with rice.
You will need to boil 1½ cups of water, for making each cup of rice. Add 1 tsp of salt and some finely chopped onion to water. Let it reach the boiling point and reduce the flames to low.
Cover the rice and let it simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. Fluff the rice gently with a fork. Cover them and cook for another 5 minutes.
To prepare collards, rinse the leaves and remove thick stems for them. Stack the leaves together and roll them like a thick cigar. Steam collards over boiling water, till they become tender.
Pour feijoada over hot rice. Garnish it with orange slices, pineapple and collard greens. The dish to ready to be served!

Tips

Before cooking the rice, you can try cooking it a bit, with salt and garlic. Do this prior to adding water. This will add to the taste of the feijoada.
After you add beans to the saucepan, check after every 15 minutes, to see whether the beans and the meat are cooked or not. You might have to add more water to the saucepan and get the mixture a little bit more.

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