Feijoada

Feijoada

Brazilian feijoada with common side dishes
Origin
Place of origin	Portugal
Details
Type	Stew
Main ingredient(s)	beans, beef, pork

Feijoada (European Portuguese: [fɐjʒuˈaðɐ], Brazilian Portuguese: [fejʒuˈadɐ]) is a stew of beans with beef and pork, which is a typical Portuguese dish. Feijoada is also typically cooked in former Portuguese colonies such as Brazil, Macau, Angola, Mozambique and Goa (India). However, the recipe can differ slightly from one country to another.

The name comes from feijão, Portuguese for "beans".

The basic ingredients of feijoada are beans with 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 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.

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

Variants

Modern variants of the dish are based on ancient Feijoada recipes from the Portuguese regions of Beira, Estremadura, and Trás-os-Montes. In Brazil, feijoada (feijoada brasileira) is often considered the national dish.

Brazilian feijoada

The typical Portuguese feijoada à transmontana

Feijoada has been described as a national dish of Brazil, especially of Rio de Janeiro, as other parts of Brazil have other regional dishes. Brazilian feijoada (feijoada brasileira) is prepared with black beans, a variety of salted pork or 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) and in some regions of the northeast, like Bahia and Sergipe they usually add vegetables like cabbage, kale, potatoes, carrots, okra, pumpkin, chayote and sometimes banana. They are added at the end of the cooking, on top of the meat, so they are cooked by the vapors of the beans and meat stew. 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.

It is customary to serve it with white rice and oranges, the latter to help with digestion.

Feijão com arroz is the rice and black beans without the addition of the meat.

See also

• Cassoulet
• Rice and beans
• Fabada Asturiana
• List of African dishes
• List of Brazilian dishes
• List of stews