Feijoada: A Brazilian National Dish

Feijoada is a type of Bean Stew original from Portugal that is also found in Angola, Brazil and other former Portuguese colonies. It can be made with different types of meat and beans. The name comes from feijão, Portuguese for "beans". In Brazil, the fusion of African and local cuisine, resulted in the famous Brazilian feijoada. An icon of Brazilian cuisine known internationally. Feijoada is the kind of comfort food that brings people together in Brazil. Feijoada lunches can be an all day event involving dancing and lots of fun conversations.

The traditional Brazilian feijoada is prepared with black beans and a variety of salted pork products, such as salted trimmings (ears, tail and feet), bacon and sausage. However, I am not a fan of fatty meats, so I created a slow cooker lean feijoada recipe. The result is an effortless dish that is also healthier and flavorsome.  

In Brazil, feijoada is often enjoyed with family and friends paired with various side dishes and caiprinhas cocktails or beer.  Some of these side dishes are collard greens, rice, peeled oranges and a pepper sauce.

This stew is easy to prepare and it is very economical. You can make a large amount of feijoada with a few low cost ingredients. 

 Brazilian Feijoada:

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cups of chicken stock

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb of pork tenderloin OR pork loin

1 (8oz) skinless smoked sausage, sliced

¼ teaspoon of ground cumin

2 dried bay leaves

2 (15oz) cans of Black beans, not seasoned

1 slice of hickory smoked bacon

Salt and pepper, to taste

Cooked rice, for serving

Trim excessive fat from pork tenderloin and cut it into 1 inch pieces. Lightly season meat with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Layer the sausage and pork meat in a 4 to 5 quart slow cooker. Sprinkle ground cumin, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour beans and chicken stock over the top. Add the bay leaves and bacon.

Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or until meat is tender. Remove bay leaves before serving. If you like, remove and discard the bacon slice too. Leftovers can be refrigerated for one week.

Serves 8.

Collard Greens

Ingredients:

1 lb of fresh collard greens, thin sliced

1 tablespoon of olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a large sauce pan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Saute garlic for about 3 minutes and stir in collard greens. Work in batches if necessary. Season with salt and pepper. Cook it covered over medium low heat for about 7 to 10 minutes or until tender. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

Pepper Sauce

Ingredients:

¼ cup of roasted peppers, chopped

_1/8 cup of jalapeno peppers (or any other hot pepper), chopped

1 small garlic clove, finely chopped

_1/8 cup onion, chopped

1 ½ tablespoon of fresh parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice

¾ cup of olive oil

1 dry bay leave

¼ teaspoon of paprika

Ground cayenne pepper, to taste

Salt, to taste

In a bowl mix all ingredients together and refrigerate overnight. Remove and discard the bay leave before serving.

Simple Chicken Mole

When I was pregnant with my first child a dear friend cooked chicken mole for us and it was delicious! He introduced me to the wonderful mole, this famous thick, rich, chocolate-tinged sauce. Traditional mole recipes call for more than 20 ingredients, including different types of pepper, nuts and a small amount of chocolate. This concoction is boiled for hours until it reduces to a thick, fragrant and unique sauce.

To make mole form scratch is time consuming, so I developed an easy chicken mole recipe inspired by our friend’s dish. It is a simple, economical and tasty recipe that you can serve even to guests. My husband and I love this dish and I hope you will enjoy it as well.

Simple Chicken Mole:

Ingredients:
1 ½ lb of chicken breast tenderloins, boneless and skinless
¼ cup of store-bought mole sauce
1/8 cup of fresh lime juice
2 ¼ cups of chicken stock or chicken stock
¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
¼ teaspoon of paprika
¼ teaspoon of onion powder
½ teaspoon of ground cumin
¼ cup of fresh cilantro, chopped
1 ½ tablespoon of vegetable oil
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cooked white rice, for serving

Preheat the oven to 375F. Spray a casserole dish with cooking oil. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Meanwhile, season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and lime juice. When oil is heated, add the seasoned chicken and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning it only once after 5 minutes.Add 2 tablespoon of chicken stock after 5 to 7 minutes to keep the meat from getting dry.

Transfer the chicken to prepared casserole dish. Set aside. Add mole to skillet and slowly add the remaining chicken stock (1 cup at the time). Cook it over medium-low heat. Stir constantly until the mole sauce is fully dissolved. Add cumin and let it simmer for about five minutes. Pour sauce over chicken in prepared casserole dish.

Bake it uncovered for 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and top it with chopped cilantro. Serve it hot with cooked rice. Garnish with jalapenos peppers, if desired.

Serves 4.


If you like your chicken mole with beans, here is another simple recipe:

Latin Style Pinto Beans:

Ingredients:
15oz (1 can) of pinto beans
1 dry bay leave
½ slice of uncooked bacon
½ cup of water
1 small garlic clove, minced
Salt, to taste

In a sauce pan, cook the bacon over medium heat. Remove bacon from the pan. Add bay leave, garlic and pinto beans with the juice. Stir in water. Season with salt. Simmer over medium low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Crumble bacon and return to the pan, if desired. Serve hot.


Note: You can find mole sauce in the Latin or Hispanic aisle of your grocery store.

My Little Girl's Chili

My older daughter is a food enthusiastic and she likes to experiment with flavors and tastes that are familiar to her. But usually she doesn’t want to try new foods. Most of the time, she wants to stay in her comfort zone. As she is growing older, her passion for food is increasing and I noticed that slowing she is adventuring herself into new flavors. A few months ago, she tried chili for the first time and she really liked it! Isn’t that exciting?

Today we tried to “recreate” the chili she ate at the cook-off! It was fun to come up with our own chili recipe. It was even better to work with my 8 year old daughter. For the first time we worked together developing a new recipe. I found a new way to spend quality time with Virginia.

Above all, Virginia is very happy with her chili creation. It was very comforting to eat such a tasty dish in a cold night.

Virginia’s Chili


Ingredients:
1lb of ground beef
5oz of pork breakfast sausage
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
2  cups of chicken stock
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 ¼ cups of onion, chopped
15oz (1 can) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon of paprika
3 tablespoons of tomato paste
½ cup of tomatoes, diced
Salt and pepper, to taste


In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Sauté onions and garlic for about 3 minutes. Stir in ground beef and sausage. Cook the meat mixture for about 5 minutes breaking up big chunks of meats with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer the meat and its drippings to a 5-qt slow cooker. Add chicken stock, cumin, chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, tomato paste and diced tomato. Cover and cook for 2 to 3 hours in high or for 4 to 5 hours in low. Stir in pinto beans drained and cook for another 30 minutes or until fully heated. Test seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

Garnish with shredded cheese and jalapeno peppers if desired.