feijoada

I mentioned before that feijoada is the national dish of Brazil.  I finally had it in Salvador, the birthplace of feijoada, and plan on having it every Saturday I have left in Brazil!  It’s supposed to be a Saturday dish and many places only have it on the menu those days.

Feijoada was created by the African slaves with the leftover parts of pork and beef being thrown out by their owners.    Being from the South, this style of cooking resonates deeply with me.  From our shared ugly pasts, both nations have benefitted from the talent of these incredibly strong African women making the very best of the very worst.  To have something good when everything else in their lives was so very bad, something to nourish their bodies and their soul- that is why this kind of food brings so much comfort when you eat it.  It was created to do just that. This is the kind of food I love to eat. 

Basically, and hey this kind of food is basic, it is a slow cooked black bean stew.  I found this recipe from Jaime Oliver who apparently got it from his dishwasher’s mother who is Brazilian.  I think it would be hard to mess this up.  I know everyone back home is chomping at the bit for fall weather and I think this would be an awesome dish to ring it in when it finally arrives.  I totally plan on making it for football game parties.

The only discrepancy I noticed with his recipe  is that it should be served with farofa as well.  Farofa is toasted manioc flour and is awesome sprinkled over beans and rice.  I’m fairly certain you can find it in the Latin America section of your grocery or at the very least the farmer’s market.

Proof of how much we all loved it…