Feijoada (Brazilian Beans with Smoked Pork, Rice and Collards)
This hearty dish of beans and pork is the quintessential Brazilian comfort food. It is traditionally served with garlic rice, sautéed collard greens, a tangy vinaigrette, and farofa, toasted cassava flour. This recipe first appeared in our Jan/Feb 2013 issue along with Bruno Fiuza's article Portela Samba School Feijoada Parties.
SERVES 6–8
8 slices bacon, cut into 2" pieces
½ lb. smoked pork chops, cut into 2" pieces (available from Amish Foods)
½ lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2" pieces
½ lb. Portuguese-style linquiça sausage or Spanish-style dry chorizo, cut into 2" pieces (available from Mello's Finest)
1 smoked ham hock
1 lb. dried black beans, soaked overnight
8 cloves garlic, crushed
3 bay leaves
FOR THE RICE:
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup minced garlic
2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE COLLARDS:
3 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup minced garlic
15 collard green leaves, stemmed and very thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:
1 ripe plum tomato, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
½ small white onion, finely chopped
Juice of 2 limes
½ cup finely chopped parsley
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
⅓ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE FAROFA:
3 slices bacon, minced
1 cup cassava flour (available from Barry Farm)
½ cup finely chopped parsley
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup raisins
3 oranges, peeled and sliced, for serving
2. Meanwhile, make the rice: Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Add rice, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Keep warm.
3. Make the collards: Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Add collards, salt, and pepper; cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Keep warm.
4. Make the vinaigrette: Mix tomato, onion, lime juice, parsley, vinegar, oil, and salt and pepper.
5. Make the farofa: Heat minced bacon in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat until fat is rendered, about 3 minutes. Add cassava flour, and cook until toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Add parsley, oil, and raisins and cook 2 minutes more.
6. To serve: Shred meat from ham hock, discarding bone, and transfer with meat from beans to a platter. Put beans, rice, collards, and oranges around meat. Sprinkle vinaigrette and farofa over the dish.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE BEANS:8 slices bacon, cut into 2" pieces
½ lb. smoked pork chops, cut into 2" pieces (available from Amish Foods)
½ lb. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 2" pieces
½ lb. Portuguese-style linquiça sausage or Spanish-style dry chorizo, cut into 2" pieces (available from Mello's Finest)
1 smoked ham hock
1 lb. dried black beans, soaked overnight
8 cloves garlic, crushed
3 bay leaves
FOR THE RICE:
2 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup minced garlic
2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
2 bay leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE COLLARDS:
3 tbsp. olive oil
¼ cup minced garlic
15 collard green leaves, stemmed and very thinly sliced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:
1 ripe plum tomato, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
½ small white onion, finely chopped
Juice of 2 limes
½ cup finely chopped parsley
⅓ cup red wine vinegar
⅓ cup olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
FOR THE FAROFA:
3 slices bacon, minced
1 cup cassava flour (available from Barry Farm)
½ cup finely chopped parsley
¼ cup olive oil
¼ cup raisins
3 oranges, peeled and sliced, for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Make the beans: Add the pieces of bacon to an 8-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and cook until fat renders, about 7 minutes. Add chops, shoulder, sausage, and ham hock, and brown, 8–10 minutes. Add beans, crushed garlic, bay leaves, and 8 cups water, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until beans are tender, about 1 hour. Keep warm.2. Meanwhile, make the rice: Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Add rice, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium-low; cook, covered, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Keep warm.
3. Make the collards: Heat 3 tbsp. oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining garlic; cook for 2 minutes. Add collards, salt, and pepper; cook until wilted, about 4 minutes. Keep warm.
4. Make the vinaigrette: Mix tomato, onion, lime juice, parsley, vinegar, oil, and salt and pepper.
5. Make the farofa: Heat minced bacon in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat until fat is rendered, about 3 minutes. Add cassava flour, and cook until toasted, 3 to 5 minutes. Add parsley, oil, and raisins and cook 2 minutes more.
6. To serve: Shred meat from ham hock, discarding bone, and transfer with meat from beans to a platter. Put beans, rice, collards, and oranges around meat. Sprinkle vinaigrette and farofa over the dish.
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Some advices:
- Please don't use jasmine rice; a plain white rice just seasoned with salt is "the one"
- About the bean stew, let it simmer on low for 2 hours minimum; my secret: after it is done, grab a new pan, one big chopped onion, 2 garlic cloves and some olive oil; let it get brownish but not burned; grab 2 or 3 laddles of the cooked beans and add to the onion; mash it so that it turns into a thick mash; then add the remaing beans and meat stew; don't forget to add cummings.. beans crave for it
- farofa with raisins is new for me; the orange is served separatly cut into slices as well as the linguiça which is supposed to be flammed and cut into pieces
- in the stew, use any kind of chouriço instead of linguiça
Hope you enjoy
Saveur: Who in the world wrote these recipes? Mercy! Traditional, trustworthy Brazilian recipes are available on www.frombraziltoyou.org