Feijoada

Soak the beans overnight

Cover the dried black beans in plenty of cold water and let them soak overnight to soften.

Drain and start the pot

Drain the soaked beans, put them in a large heavy pot with the smoked pork ribs and carne seca, and cover generously with fresh water.

Simmer the beans and meats

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook, covered, for two hours until the beans are tender and the meats are falling apart.

Render the bacon

In a separate pan, cook the diced bacon over medium heat until it renders its fat and turns golden.

Build the sofrito

Add the onion and garlic to the bacon fat and cook until soft and fragrant.

Add the sausage

Stir the sliced linguica sausage into the sofrito and cook until lightly browned.

Combine and finish simmering

Tip the bacon, sofrito and sausage into the bean pot along with the bay leaves and simmer everything together, uncovered, for one more hour until thick and glossy.

Serve the spread

Season with salt and pepper and serve the feijoada with white rice, farofa, sautéed collard greens and orange slices.