Cosmopolitan Club Brazilian Dinner: February 8, 1998
Recipes
History
For 300 years, feijoada has reigned supreme in
the Brazilian kitchen. Invented by slaves, who started mixing their
masters' pork leftovers to the black beans that were used to feed the
animals, it got a touch of Portuguese and Indian cuisine and today is
served all over from the hole-in- the-wall little joints to the most
sophisticated restaurants. And every family seems to have its own
feijoada favorite recipe.
The African slaves had the basic bean stew, the Portuguese added the
linguica (sausage), and the Indians added the farofa
(toasted manioc flour). Regardless of its origin and evolutionary
history, everyone loves feijoada.
It's like anything else really--people eat whatever grows in their
region and they modify recipes from other areas with their home-grown
ingredients. Basically, these other so-called feijoadas are various
regional dishes prepared with different kinds of beans. To call them
"feijoada" could be considered a national sacrilege to many
people, but to others it's just a name. Whatever they are, we hope you
try one of them so that you can experience a little bit of Brazil while
living far from there.
Ingredients
Feijoada Carioca Cariocan -from Rio de Janeiro - Feijoada)
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 red cayenne pepper, chopped
- 4 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight, drained
- 1 lb. Salt pork, boiled for 5 minutes, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 2 lb. Portuguese sausage (linguica) or Italian sausage
- 1 lb. Smoked Polish sausage, cut into 1-inch lengths
- 1 lb. Smoked lean ham hocks
- 2 lb. Corned beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 lb. Pork spareribs, cut small pieces
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 fresh orange, washed very well, cut in half
- 2 quarts water
- 6 oranges, peeled, sliced
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large, heavy, deep pot and stir-fry the onion, garlic,
and cayenne for 2 minutes or until light golden brown. Add the beans,
salt pork, Portuguese sausage, smoked Polish sausage, ham hocks, corned
beef, pork spareribs, salt, black pepper, bay leaves, halved-orange and
water. Cover and simmer for 2 hours or until the beans are tender,
stirring occasionally and adding water if needed to ensure that the
beans are completely covered while cooking. Serve with sliced oranges,
manioc meal with butter and eggs, white rice, collard greens,
vinaigrette sauce, and cachaca (Brazilian spirits) cocktail.
Serves 8-10.
Ingredients
- 100 gr. parmesan cheese
- 250 gr. unsweetened coconut
- 1 cup wheat flour
- 1/2 liter milk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 eggs well mixed
- 3 cups sugar
Instructions
Mix all ingredients. Put into a buttered pan and bake it (35O degrees
F). After 10-15 minutes do the knife test--it must come almost clean.
Let it chill. Serves 10-15.
Ingredients
- 1 can condensed milk
- 1 can passion fruit concentrated juice or passion fruit puree (use
the same one above as measurement)
- 1 can media crema light cream (it can be found at Meijer or Hop n'
Shop)
Blend all ingredients. Put in the refrigerator and serve 3 hour later
(at least). Serves 6-8.
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