Fool a Carnivore

Brazilian Feijoada

Date: / By Nancy Olah

Brazilian Fiejoada picture

Brazilian Fiejoada picture Feijoada has been a staple in my culinary repertoire ever since I was introduced to the dish by Frances Moore Lappé in her seminal book, Diet for a Small Planet.

It seemed exotic to me as a teen, and the hearty flavor of the beans was very satisfying on a brisk autumn evening.

I’ve made many versions of feijoada in my life, and this one owes a thankful nod to Crescent Dragonwagon and Molly Katzen. The traditional version uses a lot of meat—sausage, pork, bacon, and beef.

My menfolk think that I get a good flavor using a mixture of chorizo and Italian sausage.

Brazilian Feijoada
 
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Recipe type: Slow Cooker Meals
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
  • 3 cans black beans (15-19 oz.)
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 stalk celery, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup chopped fresh tomatoes (try quartered grape tomatoes since they hold their shape well)
  • ½ cup vegetarian stock or broth
  • 2 oranges, zested and juiced
  • 1 orange, peeled, sectioned and chopped
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • ¼ cup red wine
  • 2 Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo sausages (1 package) or 2 Field Roast Mexican Chipotle Sausages (½ package)
  • 2 Field Roast Italian Sausages (½ package)
  • 1–2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • ½–1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
  • Cooked brown rice
Instructions
  1. Put a liner in the slow cooker and turn to high. Drain and rinse 2 cans of black beans, and add them to the slow cooker, along with the remaining can of un-rinsed black beans.
  2. Heat a skillet, add the olive oil, and sauté the onion for 7-8 minutes over low heat. When the onion is translucent, add the garlic, and then the celery. Sauté for about 5 minutes and add the red pepper, cumin, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Sauté a few more minutes and then add to the slow cooker.
  3. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, orange zest, orange juice, sectioned orange, lime juice, and red wine. Cook on high for 5 hours.
  4. About 30 minutes before you are ready to serve, cook the sausages, lightly sautéing in a little olive oil for about 4–5 minutes. (If you are using Trader Joe’s instead of Field Roast, it will crumble very easily when you take it out of the casing, so you may just want to lightly sauté the crumbled pieces and not try to keep it whole.) Let cool, quarter each sausage lengthwise, and chop into small pieces. Add the chopped sausage pieces to the slow cooker and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Add the vinegar and hot pepper sauce right before serving over plenty of cooked brown rice.
Notes
Copyright © 2012 Nancy Olah