Feijoada (Brazilian Black Bean Stew)

Feijoada (Brazilian black bean stew) is one of my favorite dishes of all time. I hadn’t made it in a very long time and since Sunday promised to be a lazy, rainy day, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for a long-simmering stew.

This is a simple, peasant-y dish that contains only a few simple ingredients but is absolutely delicious. And it’s one of those dishes that gets even better the next day. I usually use kielbasa for the sausage but this time I decided to try linguiça and that worked really well, too.

Don’t be tempted to use canned beans as a shortcut. I’m not against canned beans – in fact I use them quite often – but they simply do not work for this dish (I’ve tried). It really is worth the time to soak the dried beans overnight and then simmer the stew all afternoon.

Feijoada (8 servings)

• 1 lb. dried black beans
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, pressed
• ¾ lb. boneless pork loin ribs, cut into ¾-inch cubes
• ¾ lb. linguiça or kielbasa, sliced
• 5 cups water
• salt to taste
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups white or Basmati rice, cooked

1. Put the beans in a large bowl and pick through them, removing any bad ones. Place enough cold water in the bowl to cover the beans by an inch and soak overnight.
2. Drain the beans and rinse them thoroughly.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onions and garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes. Add the pork and sausage and cook, stirring, about 10 minutes.
4. Add the beans, water, salt, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 4 hours. If the stew is too watery, puree 2-3 cups of the beans, then stir back into the stew.
5. Serve with the rice.