Vegan feijoada

Feijoada

Wash a cup on dry black beans and soak it  overnight. Either on the day of, or the day before, cook the black beans by adding it (with the water it soaked in) to a large saucepot and bringing it to a simmer with two bay leaves. Simmer it for an hour or one and a half hour, until the beans are soft and the liquid has thickened, adding more water if it looks too dry. This step can be made ahead of time.

Chop half a block of firm or extra-firm tofu into one inch cubes and marinate it for at least half an hour in a marinade of your choice. I used tamari, cumin, garlic powder and a bit of water. After it has marinated for a half hour, roast it in the oven at about 400 F for about 5 mins per side.

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a small saucepan and add a small finelly chopped onion and stir fry until it goes translucid, about 2-3 minutes. Add 2-3 chopped garlic cloves and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes. Add 1-2 tsp of salt and 2 tsp cumin and cook for another minute. Add a ladle of the cooked beans, with sauce to the pan, mix it well, and then mix it in to the larger pot of beans. Mix in the roasted tofu and bring the beans to boil. Let it simmer for a few minutes until all the flavours are well blended. Taste for salt and just before serving, add 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley.

Serve with rice and stir-fried kale or collard green. I didn’t have rice so I cooked some quinoa with a bit of turmeric and it complemented the beans really well. For the kale, after cleaning it and removing the tough stems, I heated a bit of olive oil in a cast iron skillet, stir fried some garlic, and added the chopped kale and cooked it, stirring, until wilted. I added a tablespoon or so of water when the pan looked dry.

Original recipe from here (in Portuguese)

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