Vegan Feijoada

Vegan Chef Diary

I like to take traditional recipes from my country, Brazil, and ‘veganize’ them. Feijoada is a black bean stew, with the consistency of a thick sauce. Black beans are a great source of protein and vitamin B6. This vegan feijoada is a nutritious and well-balanced meal…

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Ingredients

Ingredients for 4 people:
400g of black beans cooked in water with a bay leaf and chopped garlic (keep the cooking liquid)
4 cloves of garlic
2 medium sized onions
2-3 cups of mixed vegetables, we used courgettes, squash, carrots and tomatoes.
200g of firm tofu (optional)
1 tbsp of smoked paprika
1 tbsp of vegan stock
For the vinaigrette:
4 tomatoes
Salt and pepper
Handful of herbs (such as parsley, basil, as you prefer)
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 red onion
For the Farofa:
200g Farofa flour (usually found in South America or West African supermarkets)
1 clove of garlic chopped finely
1 small onion chopped finely
To Garnish:
1 orange, cut into segments
1 spring onion

Method

Fry the onions and garlic in oil in a big pan for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, and then add the chopped vegetables.

After a couple of minutes , add the black beans still in their cooking liquid, stock, and paprika. Leave to cook for 10 minutes. Check the feijoada occasionally to make sure all the liquid hasn’t evaporated, and to give it a quick stir.

Add the tofu cubes if using, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Be careful not to stir too much at this point, otherwise the tofu cubes can break up.

While the tofu is cooking (in the feijoada) you can make the farofa. Put the onion and garlic in hot oil. When the onion and garlic are golden, add the farofa flour and cook for approximately 5 minutes, mixing all the time.

To serve put a few spoonfuls of feijoada on a plate, cover with finely chopped spring onions and the farofa. Serve with some of the vinaigrette and orange segments. Traditionally feijoada is also served with rice.