Feijoada, the national dish of Brazil – a hearty bean stew traditionally made using the tails, trotters and ears. Here’s a recipe using ingredients more familiar to home.
Ingredients
500g dry black beans (don’t use tinned)
500g salted pork ribs
500g salted bacon
8 tablespoons of olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic
2 large smoked sausages, cut into large chunks
500g smoked pork ribs, cut into chunks
500g smoked bacon, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon ground pepper
5 bay leaves
Method
1. Soak the beans, salted ribs and bacon in cold water overnight making sure they are fully covered
2. Drain the beans and add them to a saucepan with fresh cold water. Bring them to the boil over a medium heat and then simmer for 30 minutes until tender
3. Run the soaked salted ribs and bacon well and add to the saucepan of beans cooking for a further 30 minutes over a medium heat. Heat a large saucepan and pour in olive oil so it covers the base. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add the sausages, smoked ribs, bacon, pepper and bay leaves. Pour in the cooked beans and meat from the other saucepan and top up with water. Simmer for around 90 minutes until the meat is tender
4. Serve up the Feijoada with fluffy white rice, slices of orange and farofa (a Brazilian manioc flour). Enjoy!