Pork and black bean stew (feijoada)

Legend says that feijoada, Brazil’s signature offal dish, was created by slaves during the colonial period using the leftover parts of the animal discarded by their masters. Historians say this myth – the Portuguese have a strong culinary tradition of stews, so it’s possible this is another dish they introduced. In either case, this hearty pork and black beans stew recipe is popular across the country, and every family has their own special version.

• serves

  10

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1:10 hour

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 600 g black beans
• 1 pig’s ear
• 300 g dried beef (jerky)
• 2 litres water
• 1 large brown onion, diced
• 8 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 smoked pig’s feet
• 2 smoked pig’s tail
• 200 g smoked bacon, roughly chopped
• 500 g smoked pork rib, chopped
• 300 g pork loin, chopped
• 300 g smoked sausage, such as chorizo, thickly sliced
• 4 bay leaves
• ½ bunch of parsley, chopped
• ½ bunch of chives, chopped
• orange slices, stir-fried couve or Chinese broccoli, rice, toasted cassava flour, to serve (optional)

Instructions

Combine beans, pig’s ear and dried beef in a pressure cooker. Add the water. Cook for 40 minutes or until beans are tender but firm to the bite. Set aside.

Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 4 minutes or until browned. Add the pig’s feet, pig’s tail, bacon, pork rib and sausage. Cook for 5 minutes or until meat is browned. Add meat and bean mixtures, and bay leaves, to the frying pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.

Scatter over parsley and chives. Serve with orange, couve or Chinese broccoli, rice and toasted cassava flour.

Note

• Smoked pig’s ear, feet and tail are truly authentic, but you can use unsmoked – or even smoked hock – instead.

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.