Feijoada

Variants

Many modern variants of the dish are based on feijoada recipes popularized in the Brazilian regions of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Recife, and Salvador. In Brazil, feijoada (feijoada brasileira) is often considered a national dish.

Brazilian feijoada

Registered for the first time in Recife, State of Pernambuco, feijoada has been described as a national dish of Brazil, especially of Rio de Janeiro, as other parts of Brazil have other regional dishes. The Brazilian version of feijoada (feijoada brasileira) is prepared with black beans, a variety of salted pork or beef products, such as pork trimmings (ears, tail, feet), bacon, smoked pork ribs, and at least two types of smoked sausage and jerked beef (loin and tongue). In some regions of the northeast, like Bahia and Sergipe, vegetables like cabbage, kale, potatoes, carrots, okra, pumpkin, chayote and sometimes banana are frequently added, at the end of the cooking, on top of the meat, so they are cooked by the vapors of the beans and meat stew. The final dish has the beans and meat pieces barely covered by a dark purplish-brown broth. The taste is strong, moderately salty but not spicy, dominated by black bean and meat stew flavors. It is customary to serve it with white rice and oranges, the latter to help with digestion, as well as couve, a side dish of stir-fried, chopped collard greens or kale, and a crumbly topping called farofa, made of manioc flour.

Feijão com arroz is the rice and beans without the addition of the meat and is not considered as feijoada.

Depending on the region of Brazil, the type of bean used in feijoada varies. While in some regions like Rio de Janeiro or Minas Gerais, feijoada is typically prepared with black beans, others in Goias and Bahia brown or red is preferred.

As a celebratory dish, feijoada is traditionally served on Saturday afternoons or Sunday lunch and intended to be a leisurely midday meal. It is meant to be enjoyed throughout the day and not eaten under rushed circumstances. The meal is usually eaten among extended family and paired with an event like watching a soccer game or other social event. Because of the dish's heavy ingredients and rich flavors, feijoada is viewed as Brazilian soul food. In the city of São Paulo, feijoada is a typical dish in working-class restaurants on Wednesdays and Saturdays, mainly in the commercial area. In Rio de Janeiro, restaurants traditionally serve it on Fridays. The dish is normally served with a choice among a selection of meats, e.g. pork, bacon, pig ears, pig feet, to fulfill the customer`s needs. Other variations of feijoada, such as the low fat version or the vegetarian. The dish is frequently compared to American Southern Soul Food, which shares many similarities in terms of ingredients and taste.

According to legend, the origins of Brazil’s national dish, feijoada, stem from its history with slavery. Slaves would supposedly craft this hearty dish out of black beans and pork leftovers given to them from their households. These leftovers included pig feet, ears, tail, and other portions seen as unfit for the master and his family. However, the theory has recently been contested to be considered a modern advertising technique rather than its origin. Instead, scholars argue that the history of feijoada traces back to Brazil’s cultivation of black beans. Because of the crop’s relatively low production cost and the simplicity of its maintenance, the beans became a staple food among European settlers in Brazil. Although both the upper-classes and the poor ate black beans, the upper-classes particularly enjoyed them with an assortment of meat and vegetables, similar to feijoada. In contrast, the poor and enslaved usually ate a mixture of black beans and manioc flour.

Nutrition

Feijoada is traditionally consumed with orange slices as a side dish, which is likely to increase the bean's iron absorption.