Vegetarian Feijoada

This recipe comes straight from the cookbook, “Passionate Vegetarian” by Crescent Dragonwagon. I have adapted it a little but I did want to give her the credit.

I tried to find the recipe online but couldn’t find anything!  So I figured I should add it because we love Feijuada around here.  It’s a traditional Brazilian dish & my husband is half Brazilian.

That being said, the traditional way to make it is pretty fatty because it’s a bunch of smoked pork in different forms & black beans.  I will have to add in that recipe later because it is super simple. This one takes a bit more elbow grease but it’s totally worth it!

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2 1/2 cups dried black beans, (soaked 8 hours to overnight)

2 bay leaves

1 onion, skin on, stuck with 4 cloves

1 onion, chopped

1 head garlic, skin on

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 canned chipotle chile with 1 teaspoon of the adobo sauce (if you don’t like spicy food, leave this out)

1 tablespoon dried oregano leaves

1 large sweet potato, cut into 1-inch cubes

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons freshly grated orange rind

1 to 2 teaspoons salt

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, diced

2 ribs celery, chopped

1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeds & membrane removed, chopped

1 red bekk pepper, stemmed, seeds & membrane removed, chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground chili powder

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

Cooked rice to serve

1.  Drain the beans & rinse well.  Place the beans in an instant pot or pressure cooker with at least an inch of water to cover them.  Add the bay leaves, clove-studded onion, whole head of garlic, chipotle & oregano.  Set to 45 minutes on manual on the instant pot.  Once done, release the pressure.
2. While the beans are cooking, add the olive oil to a skillet to sauté the vegetables.  Add the chopped onion & sauté until limp & starting to color.  About 6-7 minutes.
3. Add the carrots to the skillet & cook for another 3 minutes.  Lower the heat slightly & add the minced garlic, celery, green pepper, red pepper, cumin & chili powder.  Cook, stirring, until the vegetables have lost their raw edge, about 8 more minutes.  Remove from heat & set aside
4. Once the beans have cooked for 45 minutes, add the sweet potatoes to the pot.  If necessary, add a tiny bit more water & set your instant pot for 10 more minutes.  Once done, release the pressure & make sure the beans & potatoes are cooked well & no longer hard.
5. Scoop out & discard the onion.  Scoop out the garlic & reserve.  Set it aside to cool.
6. Add the tomato paste, grated orange rind, salt, seasoned vegetables & squeezed out garlic head to the beans.
7. Turn the instant pot to the sauté function & cook for about 15 minutes to meld all the flavors & reduce the sauce.  You want it to be a bit thick so when you serve it with rice it doesn’t run all over the plate.
8. Enjoy with rice, sautéed collards & orange slices.