blue artichoke: Wandering Gullet: Brazil

GC has quite an impressive nose for cooking smells. Last night while I was making dinner, he asked if I were making red beans and rice, or maybe black beans and rice. Indeed I was. Last night's dinner was the national dish of Brazil, feijoada (fay-ZHWAH-dah), which is pretty much a vinegary black beans and rice with sausage. It's easy to make and even easier to eat. I think the recipe I used is simplified and lightened up a bit, but it was still delicious, if not absolutely authentic. I fried up a plantain for dessert.

Feijoada
I cut the recipe to 1/4 because we are but two stomachs.

2 pounds dried black beans
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 cups chopped onion
3/4 pound turkey Polish kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans, and bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain beans; set aside. Wipe pan with a paper towel.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion, kielbasa, and garlic; sauté 10 minutes or until onion is tender. Add cumin, and sauté 1 minute. Return beans to pan. Add water and next 3 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 10 minutes or until beans are tender; remove bay leaf. Stir in vinegar and hot sauce. Serve over rice.

Yield: 15 cups (serving size: 1 cup)

CALORIES 276 (11% from fat); FAT 3.5g (sat 0.9g,mono 1g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 16.9g; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 94mg; SODIUM 324mg; FIBER 8.9g; IRON 5.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.1g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 1995

Comments

This looks yummy.

Lots of recipes, I've noticed, call for use of a dutch oven. What exactly is a dutch oven and why is it so special?

I used a stock pot for making the beef, barley, and mushroom soup and it seemed to work quite well.

Posted by: Red Momo | February 13, 2007 08:36 AM

This recipe sounds interesting. Does it have a strong vinegar flavor, though? I have to be careful with that because my husband isn't a big vinegar fan.

Posted by: Chartreuse BLT | February 13, 2007 10:06 AM

Red Momo: A Dutch oven is sort of like a stock pot, but shorter with a tight-fitting lid. They are usually thicker than a stock pot, made of enameled cast iron, cast iron or other metals. They can be used on the stove-top and in the oven, and range in size from 4-12 quarts. I think mine is a 5.5 quart, and is my second or third most-often used pan, after my 12" skillet and maybe just a regular pot.

Posted by: Blue Artichoke | February 13, 2007 10:32 AM

Chartreuse BLT: Yes, it's really vinegary, but in a good way for people who don't mind that sharp-sweet flavor. The vinegar is added right at the end, and isn't cooked along with the dish, so it's very pronounced. I think the dish could be pretty bland without it, but you could try dishing up your husband's portion before adding the vinegar, or cutting back on the vinegar and adding extra seasoning to spice it up a bit.

Posted by: Blue Artichoke | February 13, 2007 10:35 AM