Feijoada

From Freepedia

Feijoada, a traditional Angolan, Brazilian, Portuguese dish also common among other former Portuguese colonies, is a stew of black beans (in Brazil) or white or red beans in Portugal, with a variety of pork and beef products such as salted pork trimmings (ears, tail, feet), pork sausage and bacon, and salted beef (loin and tongue). Angolan and São Tomean feijoadas uses palm oil. Northeastern Portugal includes vegetables and uses red beans, while neighbouring Northwest prefers white beans. This dark purplish-brown stew is best prepared over slow fire in a thick clay pot.

It is pronounced [fe.ʒu.'a.da], using IPA notation.

Feijoada's traditional history in Brazil states that it was a "luxury" dish of African slaves in Brazilian farms, as it was prepared with relatively cheap ingredients (beans, rice, collard greens, farofa) and leftovers from salted pork production. Over time, it first became a popular dish among lower classes, and finally the "national dish", offered even by sophisticated restaurants. However, this history is disputed and some experts believe that the Feijoada could actually have been inspired by the French Cassoulet dish, whilest others believe that it may have been the Portuguese dishes from the regions of Estremadura e Trás-os-Montes (where a mixture of beans and pork meat is common) that inpired the feijoada.

Differences in recipes

Despite the common name in all its incarnations, feijoada actually has significative differences between recipes. The choice of beans used is one such difference. While brazilian feijoada uses black beans, the portuguese feijoada tends towards the white or red beans. The meats involved are also quite different: Where there is a tendency towards dried or salted meats in the brazilian version, the portuguese recipes tend to stick to fresh meats. Also, the actual stew in the Brazilian version is composed strictly of beans, whilst some of the portuguese recipes (notably, the so called "Feijoada à Transmontana", from Trás-os-Montes) is also very vegetable-rich, involving tomatoes, carrots and cabbage in the stew.

Both versions tend to be served with rice as a sidedish, though similarities in sidedishes end there. While the brazilian sort is usually accompanied with chopped refried collard greens, lighly roasted coarse cassava flour (called farofa), and a peeled whole orange, and sometimes deep-fried bananas, the portuguese usually serve it with a rich assortment of sausages (including chouriço de carne, morcela, farinheira and others); the sausages may or may not be cooked as part of the stew.

Serving

Since it is a rather heavy dish, and one that takes several hours to cook, it is consumed only occasionally, usually at lunch time. Traditionally restaurants in Brazil will offer it as the "day's special" only once or twice a week, usually on Wednesdays, Saturdays, or (most seldom) Sundays. As a traditional holdover from old Catholic dietary restrictions, the special on Friday's specials is more likely to be fish. But one can find specialized restaurants that serve feijoada all the week long.

While it is customary to drink caipirinha to go with the brazilian feijoada, the portuguese will usually serve theirs with red wine or water.

See also: Cassoulet, Baked beans.