This Easy Brazilian Feijoada is packed with wonderful Brazilian flavours, but takes much less time and effort than the classic version, and is served with a simple and refreshing Orange and Tomato Salsa – a nod to the more traditional accompaniment of orange slices.
I originally created this delicious dish to celebrate the 2016 Olympics (gosh where has all that time gone?). The 2016 Olympics took place in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, which has gave me the perfect excuse to find out a bit more about Brazilian food. (I will take any excuse to gawp at pictures of food on Instagram, Pinterest etc.)
In my extensive research (!) I discovered that Brazil, like so many countries, does not have one national cuisine as such, but rather is a melting pot of many different cuisines, largely influenced by the different nationalities of those who have migrated and settled in Brazil over the years. However, the dish most commonly considered Brazil’s national dish is Feijoada.
Feijoada (pronounced fey-JWAH-duh, according to the internet), is a slow cooked stew of black beans and various kinds of meat and sausage, traditionally served with white rice and orange slices.
I looked at many traditional recipes for Feijoada and, though the ingredients vary, what they all seem to have in common is they are all rather complicated and time-consuming. Which is hardly surprising since, apparently Feijoada is a celebratory dish, typically served on Sunday afternoons and is meant to be a leisurely affair eaten with friends and family, not a rushed midweek meal.
Well, much as I love meals like that, it’s not something I usually have time for, nor would it really fit in on Easy Peasy Foodie, so I set about creating a simplified version that would be easy enough to do midweek, but delicious enough to be served for a family celebration – I do like to set myself challenges!!
And this is what I came up with…a simple one pot stew of belly pork, black beans and smoked chorizo. I’ve also added in a tin of tomatoes, some sweet potato and a red pepper – partly to lighten, what would otherwise be quite a heavy stew (it is summer after all!), but also to add in some extra nutrition and deliciousness. And, anyway, in some regions of Brazil, apparently it is typical to add veggies into the feijoada, so I’m not going completely off piste!
In fact, the addition of veggies makes this stew very easy to adapt if you need to make a vegetarian version – just do everything the same as the recipe below, but lose the meat and add in an extra pepper, a bit more sweet potato and another tin of beans – perhaps something different, pinto beans would be nice for contrast, or maybe black eyed peas – and you will have yourself a fantastic veggie, and indeed vegan, feijoada, still packed with flavour and deliciousness!!
I’ve served my version of feijoada with rice, as is traditional – but I’ve chosen brown rice, as I love the flavour and it is more nutritious than white rice, but white rice would go brilliantly with this too. The other traditional accompaniment to feijoada is oranges, but I decided to adapt this slightly and create a little orange and tomato salsa, which works fantastically to cut through the richness of the stew…and then I threw in a few orange slices to the mix too, as I knew the kids would love them! (And they did!)
I really wanted to find a Brazilian wine to go with my version of feijoada. I think Brazil could safely be described as ‘up and coming’, as far as wine regions are concerned, and as a consequence I had to search quite hard to find a Brazilian wine in the supermarkets, even in the run up to the Rio Olympics!! I found one in Marks and Spencer’s: a red made from the Teroldego grape (no I hadn’t heard of it either), and a couple in Waitrose: a Chardonnay and a Merlot. I discounted the Chardonnay, as I thought a red would be better suited to this robust meat based stew, but the other two I thought might work.
My husband and I had great fun trying both wines with the stew, and while we thought they were both great wines, we both felt the Waitrose Brazilian Merlot was the best partner to the feijoada by quite a way: its juicy, fruity, easy drinking style, with flavours of plum and cherry and just a hint of smokiness, was the perfect partner for this smoky, meaty stew, whereas the slightly bitter blackberry and liquorice flavours of the Terroldego were a little overwhelming – we felt it would be more suited to a steak, or a rich beef stew.
If you want a wine to serve with this stew, but don’t fancy the trek to M&S or Waitrose – try a Merlot from Chile or Argentina instead. Or if you are in full on Brazil mode you could always go for the traditional Brazilian cocktail: caipirinha. Not convinced it would go with the feijoada, mind…but it would make a fab aperitif whilst you are cooking it!!
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Brazilian Feijoada with Orange and Tomato Salsa
Ingredients
For the Easy Brazilian Feijoada
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 400 g good-quality belly pork cut into 1cm (½inch) wide pieces
- 1½ red onions diced
- 3 garlic cloves diced, divided
- 200 g smoked chorizo chopped into 1cm (½inch) chunks (unsmoked chorizo will be fine too)
- 3 bay leaves
- 3 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 2 x 400 g tins black beans drained
- 1 red pepper cut into bitesize pieces
- 500 g sweet potato cut into 1cm (½inch) cubes
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro)
For the Orange and Tomato Salsa
- ½ red onion finely diced
- 100 g baby plum tomatoes or similar
- 1 orange diced
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro)
- Salt and pepper
To serve
- Brown or white rice
- Orange wedges optional
Instructions
- Heat a splash of olive oil in a large casserole on a medium-high heat, add the chunks of pork belly and fry for 10 minutes, or until golden.
- Turn the heat down low, add the diced red onion and put the lid on. Cook for 5 minutes until the onions are soft.
- Next add the garlic, chorizo, bay leaves and paprika and cook for a further minute with the lid off.
- Then add the beans into the pan along with the chopped pepper, sweet potato cubes and the tin of tomatoes, plus a little salt to taste. Bring to the boil, then cook on a low heat for 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender, stirring occasionally, and topping up with a little water, if needed, to stop the stew going dry.
- While the stew is cooking, make the salsa – simply combine all the ingredients and scatter with a few more coriander leaves. Set aside to allow the flavours to develop.
- Finally cook the rice according to pack instructions. Then serve everything on the table for people to help themselves. And don’t forget to open a bottle of that delicious Waitrose Brazilian Merlot!
Notes
- To reduce the fat content, use reduced fat Chorizo and/or choose a less fatty cut of pork, such as loin.
- Suitable for freezing (Feijoada only – not the salsa).
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Pin Easy Brazilian Feijoada with Orange and Tomato Salsa for later
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Linkies
I am linking this up to Cook Blog Share.
Mandy says
Love the sound of this Eb. Well the veggie version that is. It was surprisingly easy to eat veggie in Rio when I went there and there were some incredible options. I’ve never tried recreating any of them though and I think it’s about time I rectified that by making this! #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Mandy! I would love to go to Rio one day – sounds amazing! Yes you should definitely recreate some of the meals you ate!! Eb x
Lucy @ BakingQueen74 says
Gorgeous colours in this dish, the flavours sound delicious! Will have to try it soon while the Olympics is on. #cookblogshare
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Lucy. I was really chuffed with the colours. That salsa especially – so pretty! But the flavours are even better. Definitely worth trying! Xx
Charlotte Oates says
I love how simple this is and it sounds really delicious – I love chorizo in anything so I’m sure I’d enjoy this. I’ve never tried Brazilian wine so I’ll have to keep a look out for it in the shops.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Charlotte. Well you know me – forever simplifying things…but never compromising on flavour! The chorizo is fab in it and really complements the other flavours. I would really recommend trying one of these Brazilian wines. Both good, though the Merlot is definitely more ‘easy drinking’ and cheaper! Still got the Chardonnay to try. Visit interested to see what that’s like. Xx
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I love how easy this is to adjust to cater for vegetarians Eb. It really does look like a real ‘rib sticker’ as my mum would say when she’d made a great stew 🙂 And that salsa sounds amazing too with the orange segments. We too are looking forward to watching the Olympics. Even though Mr E & I enjoy watching most of the sports we do have our preferred choices -like athletics, gymnastics & swimming – probably for the same reason as you (although they were sports we did when we were much younger rather than now with our middle-aged creaking bones and muscles 😉 ).
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Angela. It’s always fun to watch the Olympics isn’t it? I love sports I know a little bit about but also watching sports I know nothing about too. I was enjoying watching the fencing last night. Not sure I’ve ever seen that in TV apart from in a period drama! Glad you like the sound of my stew. Thanks for your kind comments. Eb x
Corina says
I’m very excited about the Olympics too and this would be a lovely dish to eat in celebration of them. I have a Brazilian friend who makes a great feijoada but I’ve never had a go at making it myself. I think the orange tomato salsa is a lovely accompaniment too! Thank you so much for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice and sorry it’s taken me a few days to visit. We’ve had family staying plus birthdays and anniversaries and with the summer holidays too it’s a struggle to fit in blogging-related things! I think I might just have to accept that August will be a quiet month blogging-wise for me. Hope you’re enjoying the summer holidays too x
Eb Gargano says
Hey no worries. I think August is a slow month for us all! I too am trying to fit blogging round holidays, kids etc. Plus trying not to feel bad that nothing is quite getting my full attention! Thanks for your kind words about my recipe. Eb x
Martin says
Will this freeze ok?
Eb Gargano says
I am sure it would freeze, no problem. It would be a great recipe to make extra and freeze the rest for a near instant meal another day. Hope you enjoy it if you make it!
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Another great easy peasy meal Eb. I love experimenting with food from other cultures…. I think it opens our eyes to so many new flavours, ingredients and textures. I particularly love the sound of your orange and tomato salsa too!
Enjoy the Olympics! x
Eb Gargano says
Me too. It’s so much fun isn’t it? I think you can learn a lot about another culture/country from the food! Thanks for your lovely kind comments. Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Ooooh Eb! I love the colours in this dish, especially the orange and tomato salsa. This is going to be a must try! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Awm thanks Kirsty! Eb x
Jacqui says
I know nothing about Brazilian cuisine. This sound delicious so I guess I must try find to to give it a go. Thanks for sharing. Jacqui x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Jacqui. It really is delicious and well worth a go! Let me know what you think if you try it! Eb x
Honest Mum says
Wish I had a bowl of this right now, yum x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Vicki. It is pretty scrumptious ☺ Eb x
Michelle says
This is absolutely delicious! Made this tonight with my kids (14, 11, and 3). We have been making Brazilian dishes since the Olympics started, and this has to be (by far) our favorite! So many flavors and so easy to make! Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe!
Eb Gargano says
Thank you so much for leaving such a nice comment Michelle!! You’ve really made my day 🙂 It is so nice to get feedback on my recipes – especially when it is as positive as yours 🙂 I’m so glad you loved this dish as much as we did. I think we will be making this long after the Olympics is over!! Thanks again for your kind comments. Eb x
Rebecca - Glutarama says
WOW! I love the sound of this recipe. The flavour combo is intense pinning this one for later as I have a cautiously optimistic idea my lot will eat this one xx
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Rebecca! Let me know how it goes if you try it 😀 Eb x