Feijoada from Brazil

Feijoada is a traditional Brazilian bean stew.  Years ago it was a dish made by slaves with beans and the discarded scraps of beef and pork their wealthy owners didn't want to eat.  Today you can still find feijoada made with pigs' ears and snouts and other meat off-cuts.  The great thing about feijoada, is that you can adapt the recipe to suit you.  Use the meat cuts you like as long as you use a variety, combining fresh meat with salted and smoked, you will be on the mark.  Most feijoada is made using black beans.  However I couldn't find any black beans and used red speckled beans and they worked just as well.  The feijoada just didn't have the black colour but the taste was the same.  I used my slow cooker to make the feijoada but it could be done on the stove-top as well.

1 packet dried beans (Black or red speckled)
6 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh coriander
1 red chili finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
4 bay leaves
1 can chopped peeled tomatoes
2 smoked sausages like kielbasa, sliced
4 chorizo sausages sliced
4 rashers bacon roughly chopped
500g pork fillet or steak cut into cubes
500g stewing beef cut into cubes
sliced oranges for garnish
Soak the beans overnight in 2 cups of the water.  In a large pot cover the bottom with the olive oil.  Add the onion, chili and garlic and saute until soft.  Add the meats and brown for a few minutes.  If using a slow cooker transfer the browned meat and sauteed onion to the slow cooker.  Otherwise keep it in the large pot and know that you'll have to be around to check on it as it will be on a slow simmer for 4-5 hours.  Whatever method you are using, add the soaked beans together with the water they were soaking in, the remaining 4 cups of water, coriander, salt, pepper and bay leaves.  Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer.  After simmering for 3 hours, add in the chopped tomatoes.  If the water cooks away you might need to add more.  When the beans are soft and the meat cuts tender and falling apart your feijoada is done.  The flavour improves the next day if you need to keep it in the fridge.  Serve with rice and sauteed collard greens or spinach.  Garnish with the orange slices.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine. She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U@ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B. All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com

Coxinha from Brazil

Coxinha is Brazilian street food at its best.  It sounds time consuming to make but it's not that bad, and you can make them in advance and freeze them.  The coxinha are shaped like chicken drumsticks, dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and then deep fried.  Yum!

2 large chicken breast fillets
4 cups water
1 stock cube
1 carrot diced
2 onions finely sliced
2 teaspoons ground bay leaves
2 tablespoons butter
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1/4 cup lime juice
1 pack cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 cups flour
2 eggs
2 cups bread crumbs
oil for frying
Put the water, stock cube, carrot and 1 onion in the pot and bring to the boil.  Add in the chicken breasts and cook for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Remove the chicken from the broth and allow to cool.  In a small frying pan, saute the second onion with the garlic in 2 tablespoons butter until soft and just starting to turn golden.  In a mixing bowl, put in the cream cheese, salt and pepper, and mix together.  Shred or cube the cooked chicken and add to the cream cheese mixture.  Mix it in well.  Add in the sauteed onion and garlic and mix it in thoroughly.  Cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge while you work on the dough.
Strain the broth and measure out how many cups of it you have, as this will dictate how much flour you will need.  The ratio is 1 cup flour to 1 cup broth.  Put the broth back into the pot and bring to the boil.  Add in the flour, a little at a time, stirring all the while until a dough begins to form.  Turn down the heat and cook until the dough forms a ball and pulls away from the sides.  This will probably take 2-3 minutes.  Turn off the heat, remove the dough and let it rest for about an hour.  After it's rested, knead the dough well and divide it into balls the size of golf balls.  With your thumb make an indent in the dough ball and fill it with about 1 heaped teaspoon of the chicken mixture.  Close the hole by smoothing the dough over it, and mold the coxinha into the shape of a chicken drumstick.  Beat the two eggs in a small bowl and sprinkle the 2 cups of bread crumbs on a flat plate.  Dip a coxinha into the egg then into the bread crumbs so that the dough is covered.  Stand the coxinha upright until you are ready to fry them.  Deep fry the coxinha in hot oil until golden brown.  Drain them on some kitchen towel.  Serve as a delicious and different snack.
Cindy Vine is a South African currently living and working in Kyiv in Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format. http://cindyvine.com