Brazilian Feijoada

Contributed by Yvonne Bent, Hilltop 1st Ward

Feijoada is traditionally served with: couve (green collards), arroz (rice), vinagrette (fresh salsa), laranja (orange wedges). All recipes are included here.

Ingredients for Feijoada:

2 small bags of black beans
3 strips of pork ribs (boneless pork ribs are good)
2 packages of beef smoked sausage (the oval shape kind)
5 bay leaves
salt (to taste--remember sausage has a lot of salt)
5 to 10 garlic cloves
3 T canola oil
1 cube beef bouillon (Knorr brand is best)

Directions:

• Slice the sausage
• Cut the ribs in small pieces
• Put sausage slices and rib pieces in a pressure cooker.
• Add the beans with the bay leaves.
• Cover with water and cook in a pressure cooker until beans are soft (see "Helpful Hints if you don't have a pressure cooker).
• In a separate pan, saute garlic cloves (chopped or crushed) with 1 crushed beef bouillon and 3 tablespoons of canola oil.
• Saute until garlic is brown.
• Add garlic to beans and simmer for a few minutes and it is ready!

To cook rice:

• Simmer over med-low heat in proportions of 2 cups water to 1 cup rice until little steam vent holes form and you can hear a "hiss" coming from the vent holes.

To cook collards:

• Chop green collards and saute with garlic

Ingredients for fresh salsa (a rough guide):

5 tomatoes
1/2 medium onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
green onions (to taste)

cilantro (to taste)

lime juice (to taste)

vinegar (to taste)

olive oil (to taste)

salt (to taste)

Directions:

• Chop all ingredients very small and mix.
• Let it sit for a few hours to let all the flavors mingle.

Serve everything with fresh orange wedges!

Helpful Hints:

If you don't have a pressure cooker soak the beans overnight OR put the beans in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil for about 10 minutes of so and then turn the burner off and let them sit for 2 hours. Then add meat and seasonings and cook until beans are soft.