Brazil's national dish — a hearty black bean stew slow-cooked with pork ribs, smoked sausage and cured meats, served with rice, farofa, oranges and kale.
Feijoada is Brazil's most iconic dish and the culinary soul of the country — a deeply flavoured black bean stew built from pork in all its forms. Every Brazilian family has their own version. Traditionally eaten on Saturdays, feijoada is a social ritual: the pot simmers for hours while family and friends gather, drink caipirinhas and wait. The accompaniments are as important as the stew itself — steamed white rice, farofa (toasted cassava flour), stewed collard greens, orange slices and hot sauce.
Serves 8
Heat oil in a large heavy pot. Add onions, cook 10 minutes until golden. Add garlic, cook 2 minutes.
Add pork ribs, pork shoulder and bacon. Brown all over, about 8 minutes. Add sausage slices.
Drain soaked beans. Add to the pot. Cover with water (about 2 litres). Add bay leaves, cumin.
Bring to a boil. Skim foam. Reduce to a low simmer. Cook uncovered 2.5 hours, stirring occasionally, until beans are very tender and broth is thick and dark. Add water if it dries too quickly.
The beans should mash easily between your fingers — very soft. Undercooked beans ruin feijoada.
Mash a ladle of beans against the pot side to thicken. Season generously with salt and pepper. The stew should be thick, rich and deeply savoury.
Serve in the centre of the table: bowl of feijoada, bowl of white rice, sliced oranges, stir-fried kale, farofa and hot sauce separately. Each diner assembles their own plate.
Soak beans overnight — it reduces cook time and improves digestibility.
The orange slices are not a garnish — the acid cuts through the richness of the pork and beans and is essential.
A pressure cooker reduces cook time to 45 minutes — equally delicious.
Vegetarian Feijoada: use black beans with smoked paprika, mushrooms and plantain.
Traditional feijoada includes more unusual cuts — pig ear, trotter, tail. Adventurous eaters should try it.
Refrigerate up to 5 days. Improves significantly the next day — a Saturday feijoada eaten Sunday is better. Freeze up to 3 months.
Feijoada's popular origin myth — that it was created by African slaves from pork offcuts discarded by slave owners — has been largely debunked by historians. Bean-based stews were common in Portugal and across South America before slavery. What is true: enslaved Africans transformed and popularised the dish. Feijoada Saturday became a São Paulo institution in the early 20th century and spread as Brazil's national dish.
Farofa is cassava flour (farinha de mandioca) toasted in butter with onions, garlic and sometimes bacon. It's sprinkled over feijoada and rice to add crunch and absorb the rich sauce. Essential accompaniment.
Per serving (400g / 14.1 oz) · 8 servings total
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