Hello All!
It’s been a few weeks, and I’m excited to be back to cooking a new recipe. This recipe is from my Tia Emma, who lives in California. I don’t see her as often as I do the aunts who live in Idaho, but it’s always so nice when I do see her and the rest of my family who live in California. Since our family is so big, and we’re all scattered around the States and outside of the country, when we do get together, it’s one large and festive get-together!
With this recipe, I have the wonderful help from Tia Emma’s three grandchildren, and my cousins-Ashley, Tracy, and Katy. When this project was begun some years back, we enlisted their help, and Feijão was one of the recipes they had gathered and cooked together with their grandmother, Emma.
I have had variations of this recipe from my mom and grandmother, Teodora, and I absolutely love it! For someone who’s never had it before, you might be timid to try it, but believe me, it is so good! I remember eating this a lot at the Portuguese Festas (Parties) that our local Portuguese Social Club in Idaho would host. Year-round there would be Festas, celebrating something and I lived for those.
I would get to see my family, cousins, and friends all in one place to eat delicious food, dance to traditional and modern Portuguese music, and sneak in a wine cooler while the parents weren’t looking! At one particular Portuguese Festa, the Matança (literally translated to the not-so-appealing meaning of “pig slaughter”), I remember this being served alongside the pork dishes, and I would always get a heaping bowl of it.
I’ve never tried my Tia Emma’s version, so I’m excited for this one! Again, thank you to my cousins Ashley, Tracy, and Katy for writing this recipe.
“Tracy and I LOVE Feijão! Katy…not so much. Between the three of us, I think we caught everything she [Emma] put into the pot. We also got to see her secret ingredient even though we can’t seem to figure out how she ever thought to put it in!!” – Ashley
Yields: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
2 pounds pinto beans, soak overnight in water
12 cups water
1/2 pound bacon
1 linguiça sausage, cut in half
1 teaspoon allspice
2 medium yellow onions, chopped fine
2 tablespoons olive oil
3-4 tablespoons ketchup
2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
salt & pepper, to taste
Directions:
1) After the beans have been soaked overnight, drain the water and add them to a large pot or Dutch Oven. Add water, bacon, linguiça, and allspice. Bring to a boil, cover, and lower heat to medium. Cook for 40-45 minutes.
2) Remove linguiça sausage and bacon from the pot, and thinly slice both. Add to a large pan, and over medium heat, saute with the onions in olive oil. Cook until onions are lightly browned.
3) Bring the beans back to medium heat. Add ketchup, browned onions, bacon and linguiça and stir. Add paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered for approximately 20 minutes, and then set aside, to thicken.
I forgot to add the most important part….Portuguese rolls! Believe me, dip the bread into the broth, the best.
Enjoy!
The Five Marias 