Brazil 2 - Feijoada

Now, I know you've read a lot about south american stews so far...and I have no intention of boring you to death, but this one is the stew of all stews. This one, I don't want to bathe in (see previous post), this one I just want to eat and eat and eat, and eat!

Feijoada. Sigh.

The quintessential Brazilian dish. You can see it above. Take a moment to have a good look at this dark, smokey, mysterious mass. It's the cassoulet of Brazil (and let's face it we all love a cassoulet!).

See the big dark brown mess? Well that, obviously is the stew - a mix of all things pork, including wonderful smokey ribs, smokey pork sausage, and traditionally included even pig ears and tail! This is cooked for a very long time with feijao (black beans), garlic, salt and a bit more stuff, and just left to cook for ages. Oh my, it becomes gluggy and aromatic and marvellously muddy.

Feijoada is always served with rice, shredded kale (sauteed with bits of fatty bacon - just to get more pork into the dish), and oranges slices. You can see it all there. I think the kale is there as the token vegie, and the orange helps cut the richness of the dish.

Now one thing you don't see (it's hidden in that wooden bowl) is the very very brazilian (but I can't stand it, never developed the taste for it) farofa - which is like sawdust really, but apparently is manjoica flour - which they sprinkle over the top of the feijoada (for a reason that I don't really get, they swear it adds something - not too sure exactly what though!). Anyway, these Brazilians are a people of wonderful palate, so I give them the benefit of the doubt that farofa works. Hmmmmm.

So, there you have it. The thing I crave when I'm back in Oz. The dish I once ate at a food fair in Sydney, and as soon as I swallowed the first mouthful, tears sprang to my eyes, and I started crying - just like that, an instant physical response to the wonders of this magical dish.

Now I did a bit of research and discovered that Feijoada is originally a slave's meal - made from all the left over bits of the pig (that's why the tail and ears are traditionally included) - they would stew the pig bits with black beans for a hearty meal, and serve it with rice. It has now become much more chic with smoked ribs and fab pork sausage and chunks of pork. Mmmmmmmm. Soooooooooo good.

You usually find Feijoada in restaurants on a Friday or on the weekend - we ate this one last Sunday at a restaurant - all of us sitting outside at tables - the restaurant only opens on weekends! And oh my goodness, it was just as I remembered it - dark, smokey, muddy in the mouth, with that zing of Kale and orange...DIVINEEEEEEEEE.