INTERESTING HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL ASPECTS CONNECTED TO FEIJOADA

“Feijoada” (pronounced – in Portuguese: fey-zhoo-ah-dah;  English: fey-jwah-duh),  is by far, the most popular Brazilian dish. If you ever visit Brazil and do not try an authentic feijoada, you have not experienced all that Brazil has to offer. The delicious stew dates from the colonial period, when Portugal owned the land, from 1500 to 1822.

At that time Brazil had slaves. The wealthy farmers, owners of the huge farmlands, would discard pieces of pork meat that they did not like, such as pork ears, tails and feet.  The slaves would get these discarded pieces and would cook them with beans. The meal that the slaves invented, at that time, was full of vegetable and animal protein, and iron.

What they didn’t know, was that their invention would become a classic entrée of the Brazilian cuisine, today found in a variety of fancy restaurants.

After centuries since its original invention, the dish has been incremented with pork sirloin and special sausages that transformed it into a tasteful and exquisite delicacy.

Today, there are several variations of the famous stew, which go from the complete original recipe including ears, tails and feet to the ones that use the finest cuts of meat and most expensive ingredients.

I know… ears, tails and feet sound disgusting. But, believe me, the original recipe is still the most popular and tasteful one.

The recipe that I will share with you is a modern and easy-to-make version, made only with beef, pork tenderloin and sausages. And that is the one that my mom cooks for me every time I go back to Brazil to visit my family!