Feijoada: Brazilian Comfort Food

 

My Wife Maggie Digging In To A Plate Of Feijoda

     As I sit in this quint but elegant restaurant, sipping my sweet and sour flavored caipirinhas (caipirinhas, is a sugar cane and lime based cocktail), I am immediately struck by the smell coming from the kitchen.  The whole restaurant is enveloped in this enticing aroma of slow cooked pork and garlic! These smells are so natural and typify every day life to Brazilians.  Because when they think of comfort food, they are immediately reminded of feijoada. 
 
     The concept of the feijoada, dates back to colonial days, when the Portuguese used Rio as a loading zone for their bounty of gold and precious gems.  Back then, meat was an expensive commodity and the well to do bought the best cuts of pork.  So with the shoulders, ribs, tenderloin, chops and so forth gone, or too pricey for the common folk to buy, what would the average person get?  Well, they would purchase the left overs; the pigs feet, snout, ears, skin, and tail.  Now I know this may seem very unappetizing to many, but they would take these left over portions and slowly cook them in a pot for hours upon hours with black beans, garlic and onions until they became an amazingly flavorful stew.  As time went on, this "poor man's stew" became a Saturday tradition amongst both rich and poor alike.  Nowadays, this Brazilian delicacy is served up in fancy restaurants all over the country.

     Here in my favorite restaurant in Ipanema, Casa de Feijoada, they serve this remarkable dish with sides of  fried plantains, rice, orange slices, fried manioc flour, pork rinds, collard greens, and rice.  The portions, as you can tell, can easily feed a small army.  Great news for foreign travelers, who are not as adventurous but want to experience this iconic Brazilian dish, Casa de Feijoada can substitute the exotic cuts for more pedestrians pieces of the pig, like ribs and tenderloin and even beef stew meat. Or you can try it the way I like and have these added to the traditional cuts, creating the ultimate version of Feijoada.  So next time your in Rio de Janeiro, stop by Casa de Feijoada.  Order their legendary version of this stew and wash this massive spread down with the national drink, a caipiriahas and you can have an opportunity to experience a true slice of Brazilian life!

Casa da Feijoada
Rua Prudente de Moraes 10
Impanema, Brazil

Regretfully, they do not have a website to checkout

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