FEIJOADA!!!

I'm sure by now most of you are totally lost, just read the title of this post and you're thinking "WHAT?!?! What the heck is that and can I eat it???". The answer is, it's a portuguese sort of chili and YES you can and SHOULD eat it.

The version that I make, of this really popular portuguese dish, is really easy.

The basic ingredients of Portuguese feijoada are beans and (fresh) pork or beef meat. In Northwest Portugal (chiefly Minho and Douro Litoral), it is usually made with white beans; whereas in the Northeast (Trás-os-Montes) it is generally prepared with red (kidney) beans, and includes other vegetables such as tomatoes, carrots and cabbage. Portuguese fejoada is usually served with rice.

FEIJOADA

Ingredients:

3 cans of red kidney beans or white butter beans
1 medium onion, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped - or a can of tomato sauce
1 small can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 pound of bacon, chopped
1 chourizo sausage, sliced (if you can't find chourize you can also use smoked sausage)
2 tablespoons olive oil
White Rice, cooked

Preparation:

The way I start is by putting the olive oil, garlic, onion, tomatoes, bay leaf, salt and pepper, bacon and sausage in a pan. Cook over medium high heat until onion is tender and bacon is cooked.

Add the kidney beans and stir.

Check the salt and pepper, add more if necessary. Turn the heat down to low and add the tomato sauce and wine. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often so as not to let it stick.

When it's done, check the consistency, you don't want it too watery, if it is, the just dissolve 1 tablespoon of cornstarch in a little bit of water and add to the pot, bring to a boil stirring constantly to thicken the sauce.

Serve over white rice.