Food Safari's feijoada

This recipe for the national dish of Brazil is made from various kinds of beef and pork, which are slow cooked with black beans then served with crunchy farofa. The smoked and cured meats are available from Spanish, Portuguese and South American delis. When the feijoada is nearly ready, be careful not to use a fork or spoon (or in fact any metal utensil). This is said to spoil the flavour and turn the dish sour.

• serves

  4

• prep

  2:30 hours

• cook

  2:50 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 500 g black turtle beans, rinsed 
• 500 g chouriço sausage, diced 
• 750 g smoked beef ribs, divided into pieces 
• 250 g thick piece of bacon or speck, diced 
• 400 g smoked pork loin, diced 
• 500 g carne seca (dried beef), diced and soaked in cold water for a few hours
• small red chillies to taste
• 2 bay leaves 
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped 
• salt
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• olive oil
• sliced orange or pineapple to serve

Farofa

• 2 tbsp butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 250 g bacon, diced
• 500 g toasted cassava (manioc) flour
• salt and pepper
• 3 flat-leaf parsley sprigs, chopped
• 3 spring onions, chopped

Soaking time 3 hours

Instructions

Place the beans, all the meat, chillies, bay leaves and half the garlic in a medium-sized pot (or pressure cooker) and season with salt. Add enough water to just cover. Bring to the boil then simmer, covered with a lid, for about 2 hours.

Sauté the onion and remaining garlic in olive oil in a separate frying pan. Once softened, add to the feijoada. Cook for another 15 minutes.

To make the farofa, melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the onion and bacon. Cook until the onion is soft, then add the cassava flour a little at a time until incorporated. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the parsley and spring onion.

Serve the feijoada with sliced orange or pineapple and the farofa on the side.

Note

• To make the feijoada creamy, liquefy ½ cup of black beans in the blender and add to the feijoada.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.