Provincetown Portuguese Cookbook

Carne

Partridges Alcântara | Pork with Clams | Minho Style | Pork Chops with Port Wine Sauce | Pork Stuffed with Clams | Baked Smoked Shoulder and Rice | Portuguese Chicken | Empanada de Galinha | Chicken with Peas | Louise's Portuguese Paella | Portuguese Skewers of Beef | Chuck Roast | Chuck Roast Portuguese Style | Alcatra à la Rita | Alcatra à Moda Mariana | Mariana's Portuguese Style Chuck Roast | Feijoada | Cocoila

Sylvia Matos Newman

Feijoada is Brazil's national dish. Made of meat and black beans, it is often washed down with cachaça, Brazilian rum. My uncle Raphael Avellar and his wife Katherine traveled extensively. Brazil was a favorite port of call with feijoada and cachaça high on their list of great culinary treats.

1 lb. pork shoulder

1 lb. corned spare ribs, if available

1 lb. or more of dried meat (you can use beef jerky)

1/2 lb. chouriço

1 lb. smoked shoulder

1 lb. lean slab bacon, one piece, no rind

1 lb. lean beef chuck, one piece

4 cups dried black beans

2 medium onions, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 stalk celery, minced

1 bouquet garni (3 bay leaves, 3 sprigs fresh parsley and 1

teaspoon dried thyme)

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 1/2 quarts water

In separate pans, soak the beans and the dried meat in cold water overnight. The next morning, change the water and soak until you are ready to begin preparing the feijoada.

Drain the beans and the meat. Place together with all of the other ingredients in a large kettle and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours. Remove each piece of meat when it is fork tender, beginning with the beef and ending with the smoked meats. Continue cooking the beans for an additional 30 minutes or until the liquid has become thick and creamy. Meanwhile, remove the meat from the bones and cube or slice into bite-size pieces.

When the beans are cooked, place them in a large sauce pan with the meats and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Place the meats on one platter and the beans in a clay pot or bowl. Serve with white rice and crusty Portuguese bread. Garnish with peeled orange slices and julienned fried kale. In Brazil, this dish would also be garnished with pulverized manioc flour, which adds additional thickness to the sauce, but it's still a great dish without it.

Serves 10.