Feijoada, Plant-Based
Feijoada is Brazil's national dish, traditionally a pork-and-black-bean stew built over hours on smoked and salted cuts. This version keeps the two things that make it unmistakable: a black bean broth gone thick and dark, and the citrus that always turns up on the same plate. Toasting tomato paste dry until it turns brick red rebuilds the savory backbone that rendered pork fat would otherwise supply, and steeping strips of orange zest right in the broth, removed before they turn bitter, folds that classic citrus lift into the pot instead of leaving it as a garnish on the side.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Black beans, dried, picked over and rinsed
- 1 Yellow onion, diced
- 5 cloves Garlic, smashed
- 2 Bay leaves
- 2 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, cracked
- 2 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1 Orange, zested in wide strips, then juiced
- 1 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1 bunch Collard greens, stemmed and sliced into ribbons, about 6 packed cups
- 2 tbsp Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Method
- Put the black beans in a large pot with 7 cups (1.7 L) water, the onion, half the garlic, and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then drop to a bare simmer. Cook partly covered until the beans are fully tender and starting to break down at the edges, 75 to 90 minutes, topping up with hot water if they ever rise above the surface. Leave them unseasoned while they cook, so the liquid reduces into a real broth instead of staying thin.
- With about 20 minutes left on the beans, set a dry pan over medium heat. Smear the tomato paste thin across the bottom and let it sit undisturbed for a minute at a time, scraping and re-smearing, until it darkens to brick red, 3 to 4 minutes. This dry-toasting is the substitute for the browned, rendered fat that starts a traditional feijoada: it builds the same deep, savory base with no oil.
- Add the remaining garlic and the smoked paprika to the hot paste and stir 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Ladle in a little of the bean broth to loosen everything, then scrape the whole mixture back into the pot along with the wide strips of orange zest and the no-salt bouillon.
- Simmer the pot uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes, until the broth turns glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Mash a ladle of beans against the side of the pot and stir the mash back in. This is what gives feijoada its thick, almost gravy-like body without any added starch.
- Fish out the bay leaves and the orange zest strips so their bitterness doesn't build. Fold in the collard ribbons a handful at a time and simmer just 3 to 4 minutes, until they turn deep green and tender but still hold their shape.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the fresh orange juice and the cracked black pepper. The acidity does the job salt usually would: it sharpens the smoked paprika and keeps the pot from tasting flat.
- Serve hot, scattered with the parsley, with extra orange wedges alongside for squeezing over individual bowls. Brown rice is the traditional plate-filler if you want one.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 275 calories, 16 g protein, 16 g fiber, 50 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
