Feijoada is a dish introduced by the Portuguese both to Brazil and West Africa. The Brazilian version is the ‘cassic’ version of the dish and the Mozambican version is quite similar, but the Angolan version is very different in that it is made from white beans, cabbage, carrots and chicken and is flavoured with lots of palm oil.

  • Yields: 5-6
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Total: 4 Hours
  • Active: 1 hour

Ingredients (13)

  • 13 oz/350g dried white beans (eg cannellini beans, butter beans etc)
  • 1.5lbs/700g chicken pieces
  • 14 oz/400g chorizo (chouriço) sausage, cut into rings
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 3 ripe tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 small head of cabbage, shredded
  • 6 piri-piri chillies (or 2 habaneros) finely chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 bunch parsley, chopped
  • 5 oz/150ml red palm oil
  • salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Add the beans to a large bowl, cover with water and set aside to soak over night.
  2. The following day, drain the beans, transfer to a large pan and cover with at least a 2″/5cm depth of water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 2 hours, or until tender (the actual time taken will depend on the type of beans and how old they are).
  3. Heat a little of the palm oil in a pan and use to fry the chicken pieces until golden brown all over then remove and set aside. Add the onion, chilli and garlic to the pan and fry until soft (about 6 minutes) then return the chicken to the pot and add the sausage. Fry for 2 minutes more then add a little water so the meat can cook without burning.
  4. As soon as the beans are done add the, tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, and bay leaves to the bean pot. Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Now stir-in the meats and add the parsley and palm oil. Adjust the seasonings, cook for a further 30 minutes then serve with rice.