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

Pork Menudo from Philippines

There are stews and there are stews but this pork stew has to be one of the best.  For those who don't eat pork you can substitute the pork with chicken if you wish.  The traditional way of cooking this dish is to have half pork/half liver.  Many people don't cook liver or much like the taste of it, so I have cooked this menudo without liver.  Don't confuse this dish with Mexican menudo as it's very different.  Mexican menudo is a sort of a soup cooked with tripe.  This is nothing like that.  No offal in this version at all.  Although this dish tastes divinely exotic, it is extremely simple to make.  I gather it is a staple in the Philippines.  You can serve it with rice or bread.  I chose to have it with rice.

2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon fruit chutney
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons raisins
500g pork cut into cubes
1 large onion sliced
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 potatoes cut into cubes
1 carrot diced

1 large handful frozen peas
half a cup water
salt and pepper to taste
Coat the bottom of the pot with olive oil and add the onion and garlic.  Fry until it becomes soft.  Add the pork, carrot and potato cubes.  Brown the meat a little.  Add the water and the rest of the ingredients.  Mix together, bring to the boil then allow to simmer until the potatoes are soft.  Serve with steamed rice.

Cindy Vine is a South African currently living in Ukraine and is the author of Not Telling, The Case of Billy B, Defective and Hush Baby.  All her books are available on Amazon is both kindle and print format.