Feijoada - a Brazilian black bean stew that takes me back to my great aunt's house in Bolivia. This is made with pork ribs (or belly), pork loin (or shoulder), sausages, and black beans. It's a heavy stew that we typically finish with slices of oranges to help digest!
Note: this recipe requires you to soak the beans over night.
Ingredients
3 tbsp olive oil
Dried black beans, 500g
Pork ribs, 400g OR pork belly strips, fat trimmed, 400g (optional, see note 1)
Pork shoulder or loin steaks, cut into chunks, fat trimmed, 500g
3 chorizo sausages, sliced
1 beef stock
3 bay leaves
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp cumin
8 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 onion, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of chili flakes
10 cups of water
Directions
Pre-cooking
Soak black beans in a generous bowl of water over night. Make sure the water is covering the surface of the beans.
Cooking
Rinse beans and set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Once very hot, add the pork belly, fat-side down and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until nicely colored, and then flip and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. Once browned, set aside, cool and then cut into large chunks.
In a large pot, place black beans, pork belly, chopped pork loin/pork shoulder, pork ribs, beef stock, bay leaves, and vinegar and cover with water (about 10 cups). Bring to boil over high heat, stirring, then lowering heat down to a gentle simmer. Skim foam for the first 40 minutes.
Simmer for two to two and a half hours.
Meat and beans should be tender but not soft after simmer. Add the sausage and simmer for another 30-40 minutes, or until meat and beans are tender and stew is rich but not stiff (add water if needed).
During this final cooking time, stir to break up some of the beans, their starch will thicken the stew.
In a large pan, heat 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat. Cook onion, stirring for 8-10 minutes, until browned and sweet. Add remaining tbsp olive oil and add garlic and cumin and cook for another 3 minutes.
Bring beans back to a boil, add onion mixture, and season with salt and pepper. Once boiling, add some water if stew is too thick, stir to combine, and remove from heat.
Serve with white rice and orange slices, and enjoy!
--Notes--
Note 1: I recommend only adding either pork belly or pork ribs (both might be too much since this stew is already very rich and protein-packed). I typically add pork belly because its easier to find (with COVID-19 and small supermarkets in London) but prefer pork ribs because they add a lot of flavor to the stew. However, pork belly is delicious, and by searing it you are also adding a lot of flavor to the stew.
Serving size: serves 8 people
Adapted from: Tia Marlene
What a throwback!