Feijoada à TransmontanaBean and Pork Stew
Red beans slow-cooked with pork, chouriço, cabbage and carrots, the hearty winter stew of Trás-os-Montes. A home version that skips the hard-to-find cuts.
By Mesa de Portugal Kitchen · Updated
Portuguese feijoada is not the same as Brazil's black bean version. In Trás-os-Montes, in the cold northeast of Portugal, it's made with red or white beans, several cuts of pork, smoked sausages, cabbage and carrots, and it's served with plain white rice.
Traditional recipes include pig's ear and trotters. This home version uses ribs and belly for the same richness, with cuts any butcher has.
Feijoada à TransmontanaBean and Pork Stew
Red beans slow-cooked with pork, chouriço, cabbage and carrots, the hearty winter stew of Trás-os-Montes. A home version that skips the hard-to-find cuts.
Ingredients
- 500 g dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight (or 3 × 400 g tins, drained)
- 500 g pork ribs, cut into pieces
- 300 g pork belly, in one piece
- 1 chouriço (about 200 g)
- 1 farinheira or another smoked sausage (optional)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- ¼ savoy cabbage, shredded
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- White rice to serve
Method
- If using dried beans, drain and simmer them in fresh unsalted water for 45–60 minutes, until tender. Keep the cooking water.
- In a large pot, cover the ribs, pork belly and chouriço with water. Simmer for 45 minutes, skimming as needed. Take out the chouriço after 20 minutes. Lift out the meat and keep 1 litre of the broth.
- Cut the belly into chunks and slice the chouriço and farinheira.
- In the same pot (or a clay pot), soften the onion in the olive oil for 8 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, paprika and bay leaves and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the carrots, the meat, the beans and enough broth to almost cover. Simmer gently for 30 minutes.
- Add the cabbage and the sausages and cook for 15 minutes more, until the cabbage is soft and the sauce is thick. Season to taste.
- Serve hot with white rice.
Notes
Tap ingredients and steps to tick them off. Scaling changes the quantities at the start of each line; check the rest by eye.
Cook it in clay
A glazed clay pot holds heat beautifully and goes straight to the table. Check that yours is safe on the hob, or finish the last two steps in the oven at 180 °C.
Feijoada à Transmontana
fay-zhoo-AH-da ah transh-mon-TAH-na
- o feijãooo fay-ZHOWNGbeans
- a carne de porcoa KAR-n' d' POR-koopork
- a couvea KOH-v'cabbage, greens
- o arrozoo a-ROSHrice
What you’ll need
Links go to Amazon, where you can check today’s price. If you buy, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Lodge enamel cast iron dutch oven, 6 qt
A best seller for slow cooking: feijoada, arroz de pato broth and Sunday stews.
Tip: Enamelled, so no seasoning needed.
Hand-painted Portuguese clay cazuela
A hand-painted terracotta pot from a Portuguese pottery, for rice dishes, stews and serving.
Tip: Check the listing for stovetop use, and use a heat diffuser.
At My Portuguese Table by Maria Lawton
The follow-up to Azorean Cooking, with more family recipes from the islands and the mainland.
Tip: Paperback, easy to cook from.
Cook this next
TraditionalArroz de PatoPortuguese Duck Rice
Slow-cooked duck, rice simmered in its rich broth, chouriço and a crisp golden top from the oven. The Sunday-lunch dish of northern Portugal.
TraditionalCarne de Porco à AlentejanaPork and Clams
Pork marinated in wine, garlic and red pepper paste, tossed with clams, crisp potatoes and coriander. Portugal's great surf-and-turf, cooked in a cataplana.
TraditionalBitoquePortuguese Steak with a Fried Egg
The café classic: thin steak seared in garlic and bay, a quick beer pan sauce, a fried egg on top, chips, rice and salad. Portugal's favourite everyday plate.