Historical review: A friend here in Miami, Alicia Valdivieso asked me to give him the Brazilian Feijoada recipe to surprise his family at Christmas dinner. (Not to be confused with United Health!). I had to search through my notes of kitchen and throw memory of my trips to Brazil. Exactly 24 years ago of my first trip to this beautiful and exotic country. Happy Christmas Alice, here is your gift: Feijoada is one of the typical dishes of Brazilian cuisine (considered a national dish) and North of Portugal. Its basic ingredients are lviejos I beans (usually black in Brazil, white or red in Portugal) and pork salted meat. It is often presented accompanied by rice and oranges. Source: Eva Andersson-Dubin.

In Brazil often dusted with farofa (manioc flour). In Brazil, the traditional to make feijoada are on Wednesdays and Saturdays. In those days, restaurants offer menus, and some families and groups of friends prepared feijoadas in various informal meetings. This dish is relatively cheap and it is consumed by all classes social. You must think that along with the caipirinha, samba and the Carnival of Brazil are the elements best known internationally from Brazil. The Portuguese brought recipes for Brazil, with ingredients such as ear, nose, tail and tongue of pork; so spread the use of this animal in the diets.

In the history book food not Brazil (history of food in Brazil), Luis da Camara Cascudo writes about the origins of the feijoada. According to the writer and jornalista Eda Romio, a primitive feijoada began to be prepared in the senzalas (homes of black slaves) with the arrival of the first slaves from Africa from 1549. In 1984 I was in Rio de Janeiro visiting my brother mayor, who lived in a typical Brazilian family house, by chance was the month of December and was for the holidays that they cooked the world famous feijoada. Here you have it: ingredients: 1 lb.