Complete feijoada

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 can/n beans, black
• 1 pack of bacon (300 g pack)
• 2 Mettenden or Kabanossi or mixed (approx. 150 g)
• e.g. smoked pork or dried meat, optional
• 1 large onion(s)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 clove(s) garlic
• e.g. salt and pepper
• 1 pinch of cumin powder
• some oil for frying
• 1 tbsp mint, dried
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves, dried
• 1 tbsp parsley, dried
• 1 tbsp chives, dried

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

Brazilian black bean stew – a simple, Germanized version

There are many different recipes for Brazil’s national dish; this one is roughly the basic recipe, slightly modified and translated into German. If you use dried herbs, you should use at least a tablespoon of each (or more to taste). You won’t be able to taste the mint individually later, but it’s part of the “Cheiro Verde” (Green Fragrance) herb bouquet. Cut the meat into smaller pieces according to your own preference and then fry it briefly in a large pot with cooking oil (in Brazil, they use palm oil, but strangely enough, it’s almost impossible to get pure here). Dice the onions and garlic and sauté them. Then pour in a little water, add the bay leaf, mint, cilantro, parsley, and chives, and season with pepper. Leave out the salt for now, as the meat is first braised until it’s cooked and releases a lot of its own salt during this time. Once the meat is tender, add the canned black beans and their broth to the pot. Simmer a little longer over low heat so the beans absorb the flavor. Season to taste and add salt if necessary at the end, and use the cumin sparingly. You can add the beans to the meat right from the start, but this increases the risk of them burning. The feijoada should be nice and creamy. Serve with rice, which is always a must; a small mixed salad is also a good addition. Feel free to add Tabasco (as an alternative to Brazilian chili sauce) and a squeeze of lemon juice to the stew.