"Like an elaborate theatre production in three acts, with plenty of drama, fabulous costumes & saucy interludes."
A description from Cooking in Spain for the dish, cocido. A description which could just as well be used for this week's fridaynightdinnerbox dish, feijoada. One comes from Spain (& Portugal), the other from Brazil, essentially though we're talking about a single pot with beans, quite a lot of meat & a vegetable or two in a soupy sauce which cooks slowly for hours. As with cocido in Spain & Portugal, feijoada is known throughout Brasil, where every region has its own version, preferring different cuts of meat, combinations of raw & cured meats, of pork beef & poultry, different pulses & vegetables. Regardless, to cook & to eat, this is a significant dish.
To be honest, I think this dish is worth it even just for the singular experience of buying that much from the butcher. It's a happy butcher who sees that shopping list! Ribs, bacon hock, shoulder, chorizo, bacon pieces, but that's just my feijoada; snouts, ears, tails, are quite normal in Brazil (as they are in Spain & Portugal), though perhaps not so much so from a butcher round here, still it can't hurt to ask...
Diego's recipe
My Recipe: Feijoada
Ingredients:
olive oil/butter
2 onions/1 head of garlic/a bunch of fresh thyme/parsley/a bay leaf
4 T tomato paste/2 cans tomatoes/2 cups chicken stock
2 cups black turtle beans
200g bacon/200g pork shoulder/500g pork spare ribs/1 bacon hock/2 chorizo sausage
4 cups white rice
collard greens, or a few leaves each of cabbage/silverbeet/spinach
2 oranges
farofa - enough to fill a ramekin
Method:
Ingredients to prep: the meat cuts, dice shoulder, slice sausage, separate ribs, chop onions & garlic
Sweat onions/garlic/bacon pieces in butter/olive oil, throw in salt/thyme, 30 mins covered, set aside
In same pot, brown pork shoulder, diced/seasoned, in batches if necessary, & set aside with onions
Deglaze pot, tom paste first, stir & allow to caramelise, then add water (I used canned tomatoes, draining the liquids at deglaze stage, plus a little homemade chicken stock & a 1/2 bottle of beer)
Reduce to a smooth thick sauce, add meat, onion, add tomatoes, cover with water, heat, add beans
Bring pot to boiling point then reduce to simmer 3 or 4 hours, adding sausage about an hour to go
Basically the meat will break down over time, but cooked at a gentle simmer the flavours & textures
of the pot will improve. You just let it happen. Try it regularly, I let it cool on the stove when done.
To serve, get ready a side dish of steamed white rice, & one of greens. Peel & slice an orange or two.
In place of the collard greens, for this Friday's dinnerbox menu, I...
shredded cabbage, silver beet & spinach, sautéed together, hot pan with vegetable oil & sliced garlic; literally throwing it all into a hot pan, hisshiss, tosstoss, maybe one more toss, throw in chopped parsley & coriander, salt, pepper, toss toss
& its done.
The rare sight of Diego sitting still for longer than 2 minutes
