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Brazilian Black Bean Stew (Feijoada) is a hearty flavorful dish loaded with meat and spicy or mild smoked Linguica. It is served over rice with a side of Couvé à Mineira (finely sliced and sautéed Collard Greens) and a flavorful crumb topping called “Farofa.”
Farofa is Manioc (Cassava) Flour that is sautéed and toasted in palm oil or the oil that is created when you brown the smoked sausage. If you don’t want to buy Manioc Flour for the farofa, you can substitute cornmeal, fine bread crumbs (though they will get soggy on your plate), or ground peanuts (which add a non-traditional but delicious flavor).
When I graduated high school, I traveled alone to Costa Rica and stayed there for 4 months. This trip was a real turning point in my food journey. Before that, I was a typical American kid of the ’90s that snacked on tons of processed foods. Being in Costa Rica for 4 months, eating only fresh fruits, smoothies, salads, and basic but delicious home-cooked meals from scratch completely reset my palate. During that time though, I ate rice and beans or “Gallo Pinto” for 3 meals a day, every single day. By the time I returned to the states, I really didn’t think I would ever eat rice and beans again.
Then I went to college in Montana and my best friend there was a Brazilian American. And so, it was back to rice and beans again. He made feijoada almost weekly. For a budget meal that can feed a group, or a family for a week, you could do a lot worse than this delicious and hearty stew.
If you are going to make this stew, you might as well make a big batch and freeze it. Beans freeze well. This recipe serves 16-20. I divide it into quart size zip lock bags to freeze for easy weeknight meals.
This version of Brazilian Black Bean Stew is not very spicy. Feel free to spice it up to your liking. Malagueta peppers are used in Brazil. These are really hard to find in most grocery stores so I substituted 1 hot red serrano/jalapeno. You can find Malagueta peppers from AmigoFoods.com. If you get your hands on a jar of malaguetas, the little peppers can be finely chopped and added to your dish and the liquid can be added a couple drops at a time as a hot sauce.
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Brazilian Black Bean Stew (Feijoada)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 18 servings 1x
- Category: Stew
- Method: Crock Pot
- Cuisine: Brazilian
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This recipe makes a large pot of this hearty black bean stew for less than $2 per person. Perfect for casual large gatherings or stocking the freezer. Serve it with rice and garlicky sautéed collard greens for a traditional Brazilian meal.
Ingredients
4 heaping cups dry black beans
10 cups water + more for soaking
1–2 lb ham hocks
1 large onion, diced
5 bay leaves
1 T dried oregano
6 large garlic cloves
1 t salt
2 lb pork butt, 1″ dice
1 1/2 lb Linguiça, sliced
1 bunch green onion, diced
1 hot red jalapeno or serrano (or more to taste)
salt to taste
1 cup cassava flour or (cornmeal)
salt to taste
Instructions
For The Feijoada
Soak the beans in plenty of water overnight.
The next morning, rinse the beans. Place in your Crockpot with the 10 cups water, ham hock, Better Than Bouillon, bay leaves, oregano, garlic, and salt.
In a skillet or brazier, brown the pork butt. Then add the onions and sauté. Add this mixture to the crockpot. If there are browned bits in the skillet, use a ladle full of the broth from the Crockpot to deglaze it and add it back into the stew.
Set the crockpot to low and simmer all day (8 hours +/-).
In a skillet, brown the smoked sausage. Transfer the sausage to the stew but leave the fat in the skillet.
Taste the stew and season with salt as needed.
For The Farofa
Add half of the green onions to the skillet and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add the manioc flour (or cornmeal) and stir until toasted. Season with salt and remove this mixture from the skillet.
To Serve
Serve your feijoada over white rice, sprinkled with the Farofa topping and a side of sautéed collard greens.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
This black bean stew can also be cooked in a pressure cooker (Instant Pot or the Old Fashion Kind). Unsoaked black beans take about 25 minutes under pressure with a quick release. Add the linguica after the pressure has been released.
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