A new pie idea from a New Zealand chef working in Brazil. Take the national dish, Feijoada, and serve it as a puff pastry pie.
What do you get when you cross a Kiwi (known, along with Aussies, for their love of meat pies) with a classic South American casserole? Read on!
Brazilians eat empanadas, which are mini pies, but they don't really get anything bigger than those small mouthfuls. So convincing a Brazilian to eat a feijoada pie proved difficult.
"No, no, " they protested, "you can't put feijoada in a pie".
"Yes we can".
Feijoada Pie Recipe
Ingredients
- 1.0 Black Beans
- 1.0 kg Carne Seca
- 1.0 kg of Pork
- 500 g Beef Ribs
- 500 g Pork Ribs
- 2 Ham hocks
- 1 of each Pork tail, ear
- 3 Bay leaves
- Qty of Olive Oil
- 500 g Linguica or Chourico/Chorizo sausage (or other spicy sausage)
- 6 Onions
- 3 heads of Garlic
- 120 mls Tomato Paste
- 60 mls Worcestire Sauce
- Water to cover
- 20 mls dende oil
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Qty puff pastry
- 3 egg yolks, and a splash of water
- Freshly chopped parsley, and spring onions.
Method
- Soak beans in cold water overnight, remove and drain, wash. Look for any stones or loose impediments.
- Pour the tomato paste over the top of the ribs, place on a baking tray and brown in the oven at 200 degrees C. By pre-cooking the tomato paste you'll remove the bitterness which would otherwise be noticeable.
- Finely chop onions, and garlic, in a big pot, or pressure cooker (or if you have one a large clay pot) and gently fry to release flavours.
- Add black beans, and worcestershire sauce,and stir gently.
- Add ribs.
- Cut beef (carne seca), pork, sausages, into large serving portions and add, with ears, tail etc. Leave on the fat as that adds to the flavour.
- Add bay leaves, and cover with water.
- Cook slowly, at 150 degrees C. (or on the stove top set to low)
- Cooking time is approximately 3- 4 hours
- Wait until the meat is tender and falls off the bone.
- Sit in Dende and cook for a further 5 minutes
- Season to taste, and allow to cool.
- Leave overnight in the refrigerator.
- Roll out puff pastry sheets, and place in pie tins.
- Fill with feijoada, prick the tops to release steam, and decorate with pastry trimmings.
- Lightly brush with egg yolks and water mix.
- Pop in the oven at 220 degrees C. Cooking time approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown.
- Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and spring onions.
- Serve hot, with a ketchup, or tomato relish.
The best drink with this is a Pilsner beer with a twist of lime.
Key things to remember:
- Use a clay pot if you can.
- Soak beans overnight and clean well
- Assemble ingredients the day before.
- If you can't find dende in shops, you can try purchasing it online at amigo.
- Add the pigs ears and tail. They release gluten, thicken, and add flavour.
Feijoada Pies are heaven for pie lovers. Like it? Start a discussion below.
Another Brazilian classic that doesn't take long to prepare, is our Beef and Pumpkin recipe, which also makes a fantastic puff pastry pie.
Uma Braco e Obrigado.
Bom apetite.
