I made this tonight for dh who had something similar on his mission to Paraguay.
Vegetarian Feijoada ( pronounced fay-zhwa-da)
This meal is comprised of several different aspects.
Feijoada
Brazilian hot pepper and lemon sauce
Brazilian Rice
Greens and garnish of oranges
First: Make the Brazilian hot pepper sauce several hours in advance.
Ingredients:
2-3 fresh chiles, seeded and chopped
1 red onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 garlic clove
½ cup fresh lemon juice
½ tsp salt
Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor and puree just until a coarse sauce.
Let flavors meld for at least an hour at room temperature of 3 hours in the fridge. Make sure to take out of fridge ahead of time to be served at room temperature.
Start Brazilian Rice:
Ingredients:
2 cups chopped onions
1 tsp oil
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tsp salt
2 cups brown rice
3 cups water
In a covered sauce pan, sauté onion in oil for 5 minutes on med-high heat. Add tomatoes and salt and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Stir in rice and water, cover, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and gently simmer on very low heat for about 40 minutes or until the rice is tender. I found I had to add more water.
Feijoada
2 cups chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1 cup diced celery
2 peppers chopped (choose combo red, yellow and/or green)
½ cup water ( I found I needed more than this-use your judgment)
2 cups canned tomatoes (18oz can, undrained)
¼ cup chopped cilantro (I left this out)
¼ tsp thyme
½ tsp ground fennel (I left this out!)
1 tsp ground coriander
5 cups cooked black beans (4 cans or 1 ¾ cup dried-prepared)
Salt to taste
1 ½ lbs collard greens or kale
1 cup water
4 oranges
2 tbsp soy sauce
Place onions, garlic, celery, bell peppers, and water in large sauce pan. Drain the juice of the canned tomatoes into the pan, set aside tomatoes for usage later. Place pan on high heat and boil vegetables, stirring often, for about 15 minutes, until onions are translucent. Lower heat and stir in cilantro, thyme, fennel, and coriander. Add the black beans and chopped tomatoes and simmer on low heat 15-20 minutes.
Collard greens/kale
While the black beans are simmering, remove and discard the collard greens stems and rinse the leaves well. Stack leaves and slice. In a saucepan, bring the greens and water to a boil. Cover and simmer (stir frequently) for about 15 minutes until greens are tender.
Peel and section the oranges and set aside. When the black beans and the rice are both ready, drain the greens and toss with soy sauce. Serve the feijoada on a large platter with the black beans on a bed of rice with the greens piled to one side and the oranges arranged around the edges.
Review:
This was AMAZING! It took a while to pull together, but the wait was worth it. The combination of the oranges with the feijoada and rice and greens was outstanding. I thought the oranges would be kind of weird, but it was really the piece that brought it all together.
Word of warning on the sauce, it is hot! A little goes a long way!
)
