If there’s a national dish of Bazil, it is the feijoada, the black bean stew. Like many Brazilian dishes, this dish originated from Portugal (that’s why it uses so much pork and garlic), but uses cheaper cuts of meat and tenderizes it through slow, low cooking. So, let’s make it! This recipe serve 3-5 people

You’ll need: 1 lb dry black beans; 2 lb cheap cuts of pork (I used a mixture of 1 lb pig feet, 1/2 lb pig tails; ½ lb pig tongue, if you can’t find these, just use a piece of shoulder/butt with some bones & ham hocks), 1/2 lb bacon, 2 bay leaves; 1/2 lb smoked pork sausage (kielbasa will be the best, but andouille works too); 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 onion; 10 cloves garlic (yes, 10); salt

How to make this:

1. Soak the dry black bean overnight in some cold clear water, drain and rinse the beans twice before cooking
2. Heat up a large pot over high heat, place the beans, feet, tails, tongue, bacon and bay leaves in the pot. Pour in about 10 cups of water, bring it to a boil, then turn the heat down to low, skim any foam that comes up and cover with a lid, let is simmer for 2 hours
3. Heat some vegetable oil over medium heat, then mince the onion & garlic, cook the onion for 10 min or until they are caramelized, then add the garlic and cook for another 3 min
4. Slice the smoked sausage, then add them with the caramelized onion & garlic. Take out some of the beans, crush them and add them back to create a creamer stew. Cover and let it cook on low for another 1 hour
5. Sever it with slices of orange, some rice, faraofa, and collard green