Recipe book · 180 min
Brazilian black bean stew
A feijoada-style pot of black beans with smoked sausage, pork and bacon. Weekend cooking for a crowd.
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How to cook it · about 180 minutes
- The night before, rinse the beans, pick out any stones, and soak them in a big bowl of cold water.
- Cut the bacon into 1-inch pieces and the pork into 2-inch chunks. In a large pot over medium heat, cook the bacon 6 minutes until the fat runs. Add the pork and brown it for 8 minutes.
- Add 1 diced onion and 4 minced garlic cloves and cook 4 minutes. Drain the beans and add them with the bay leaves and enough water to cover everything by 2 inches.
- Bring to a boil, then cover partly and simmer on low for 1.5 hours, stirring now and then and adding water if it gets thick. Slice the sausage into rounds and add it for the last 45 minutes.
- Scoop out 1 cup of beans, mash them with a fork and stir them back in to thicken the stew. Season with salt and pepper. Traditional feijoada uses salted pork cuts that are hard to find here, so this version leans on the bacon and sausage for that smoky, salty depth.
- While it finishes, cook the rice. Remove the stems from the collards, roll the leaves up and slice them into thin ribbons. Cook them in the olive oil with the rest of the garlic and the second onion, sliced thin, over medium-high heat for 3 minutes with a pinch of salt.
- Serve the stew over rice with the collards and orange slices on the side. The orange is traditional and cuts through the richness.
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