Feijoada

In the past two and a half weeks, I have come across many different titles given to Brazil: "Country of the Young," "Country of the Future," "Country of Inequality," etc. But the one I feel says it all is the following: "Brazil: A Vegetarian's Nightmare." Indeed, what a nightmare. I've had Brazilian BBQ twice now and have been impressed with Brazil's carnivorous tendencies. But the country's meat-cooking arsenal only got bigger and more mouthwatering when I had Feijoada last Friday.

Pork products and black beans in pot...yada yada yada...a couple hours later, a pot full of goodness.

The typical Brazilian black bean soup, it's got feijões (Portuguese for beans...it's where Feijoada gets its name) and loads of scrap pork products (these can include but are not limited to: bacon, sausage, pig ears, pig tail, pig feet, pork roast, and pork ribs). Most of the meat products have already been cooked in some sort of capacity (cured, roasted, etc), so they already carry a lot of flavor and spice with them when they go into the soup. So it simply comes down to putting a bunch of pork meat and black beans (with their juices) in a pot and letting them go to work.

This picture was taken just after my stomach and I threw in the towel.

The soup's contents are normally served with white rice, farofa (roasted cassava flour), collard greens, and sliced orange. Even with an empty and starving stomach (which I possessed that fateful Friday), the meal is a lot and quite comma-inducing. In fact, it's typically served on Sunday afternoons (followed promptly by a nap). I got worked over by my meal and only made it through 1/3 of it (poor showing, I know). But having Feijoada left-overs kept the experience going well past Friday...and allowed me to take plenty of (necessary) naps :)