Beans!

Today I spent most of the afternoon making Brazilian-style beans, so I thought I would share the recipe.  This is my interpretation of the way my friend taught me how to make it.  There are endless different variations on this theme, but this is a version that I make "everyday" kind of beans.  I like to use Roman beans rather than pinto beans, because they don't disintegrate into the mixture quite so much, but pinto beans will work fine too.  The broth is optional.  It give a slightly richer feel to the beans.  I always cook the full pound of beans, since it takes so long to prepare, and then I freeze the leftovers to reheat later.  It will keep for months in the freezer, or about a week or two in the refrigerator.

Note: many people are familiar with the Brazilian dish feijoada.  That is more of a special occasion dish, made with many more different types of meats.  This dish here is for everyday meals and only uses sausage.  It can also be cooked without sausages for a vegetarian version.

Cooking time: 4 hours + 4-8 hours of soaking          Active cooking time: 1 hour          Serves 10-15 people

1 pound dry pinto or roman beans
1 package chicken or vegetable broth (optional)
2 large chorizo sausages
1 head of garlic
1 medium onion
1 green bell pepper
1 tomato
2-3 bay leaves
salt, pepper, and cilantro to taste

1. 8-12 hours before you would like to serve your beans, sort through them and remove any that are shriveled or hard, or any tiny stones that may be accidentally included in the package.  Soak the beans in a very large bowl of water.  I usually do this step the night before, so when I wake up in the morning, I can start preparing the beans for a large lunch.

2. About four hours before you want to eat (or the next morning), remove the beans from the water.  Throw away any floating beans, as they will be bad.

3. Measure the volume of the beans in a liquid measuring cup, and then place them in a very large soup pot.  Add the broth to the pot, then add water, to come to a total volume of five times the volume of the beans.  For example, if you have one cup of beans, you should add five cups of liquid.  The more broth you use, the richer the beans will taste, but you should use a maximum of one package of broth, to not make it too thick.  If I cook one pound of beans, I usually have to add about 20 cups of liquid.

4. Turn the heat on high.  Stir in about 2 teaspoons each of salt and pepper, and add the bay leaves.  At this point, you can go do something else while you wait, but make sure to reduce the heat if the pot starts to boil over.

5.  After about an hour of cooking, cut the sausages up into rounds of about 1/8 inch thickness.  Add them to the beans and stir.

6.  After the beans have been cooking for a total of two hours, put about one cup of the bean liquid into a blender.  It's ok if some beans get in there too, but avoid putting meat in the blender.  Add the garlic, onion, cilantro, bell pepper, and tomato.  Blend until very smooth and return to pot.

7. Cook another hour or so until a bean is easily smashed between your tongue and the roof of your mouth.  People prefer different amounts of liquid.  I usually cook a bit longer to remove more of the liquid from the beans.  Serve over rice with farofa (fried mandioc flour - available at Brazilian grocery stores).