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Brazilian black bean stew with greens and farofa
A plant based stew in the style of feijoada, Brazil's Saturday dish: black beans slowly simmered with smoked paprika, mushrooms and bay, served with rice, garlicky greens, toasted cassava crumbs and fresh orange.
- 1 hour 10 minutes
- Prep 20 minutes
- Cook 50 minutes
- Serves 4
Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil: 2 for the stew, 1 for the greens
- 2 onions, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
- 5 garlic cloves: 4 chopped for the stew, 1 sliced for the greens
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 3 x 400g tins black beans
- 400ml hot vegetable stock, made with a gluten free stock cube
- 300g long-grain rice
- 200g spring greens or kale, tough stalks removed, finely shredded
- 100g cassava flour (farinha de mandioca, in the world foods aisle), for the farofa
- To serve: 1 orange, peeled and sliced into rounds
Let's cook
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large heavy pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and fry for 8 minutes until soft and starting to colour.
- Turn the heat up a little, add the mushrooms and fry for 5 minutes until browned. Add the chopped garlic, smoked paprika, cumin, bay leaves and tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes, stirring.
- Open the beans. Drain and rinse 2 tins, but tip the third in with its liquid, which thickens the stew. Add all the beans and the stock and bring to the boil.
- Turn the heat down, half cover with a lid and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring now and then. Mash a ladleful of beans against the side of the pan with a spoon to make it thick and creamy. Season with salt and pepper and take out the bay leaves.
- While the stew simmers, cook the rice. Rinse it, put it in a pan with 600ml boiling water and a pinch of salt, cover and simmer on a low heat for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it covered for 5 minutes.
- Make the farofa (toasted cassava crumbs). Put the cassava flour in a dry frying pan on a medium heat with a pinch of salt and stir for 4 to 5 minutes until it is golden and smells toasty. Tip into a bowl.
- Cook the greens. Wipe out the pan, heat the last tablespoon of oil and fry the sliced garlic for 30 seconds. Add the greens and a pinch of salt and stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes until just wilted and bright green.
- Serve the stew with the rice, greens and orange slices, with the farofa scattered over or in a bowl for everyone to sprinkle on.
Tips
- Like most stews, it tastes even better the next day.
- The fresh orange is a Brazilian tradition: its sharp sweetness lifts the rich beans.
- Cool leftover rice quickly and keep it in the fridge for 1 day at most. Reheat the stew and rice until steaming hot.
Swaps
- Meat version: fry 200g smoked sausage, sliced, with the mushrooms.
- No cassava flour: toast 50g fine breadcrumbs in a little oil instead; the dish is then not gluten free.
- Quicker: skip the farofa and serve with the greens and orange only.
Tags
In Autumn comfort, Feed the family, Plant powered.
None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Stock cubes can contain celery or gluten, so check the packet.
Check every packet for allergens.