Kosher Traditional Brazilian Recipes

Ask Us: Hi When I am going to see some Brazilian recipes in your magazine/website? I Would love to have a kosher version of feijoada, for example…

Answer:

This was a tough one, but a fun one.  When I looked up Feijoada and found that is a black bean stew filled with all kinds of smoked and pickled meats usually of the pork variety I knew it was going to be a challenge to recreate.   And I didn’t want to stop at just one dish for all of you.  So I enlisted a friend, Chef Tami Weiser of The Weiser Kitchen to help create a full Kosher Brazilian feast.  I got the Feijoada, she got the sides and dessert.

Starting with the feijoada I researched and what I found was that anything goes with Feijoada.  Every one has their own version and it reminded me a lot of cholent.  I was initially going to try it for Shabbat lunch, but was nervous to have it cook quite so long for the first try and it is also good for a late Friday night when the food has to sit on a warmer for hours.  I read about many versions of the dish, the only constant was smokey meat and serving it with orange slices.

My version of Kosher Feijoada was made with Jack’s kosher chorizo, pickled corned beef, ribs and more.  It was filling, but not as heavy as cholent and very good served over rice with orange slices as it was recommended.  You are supposed to serve it with Collard greens, but I don’t love those greens and I couldn’t find them that day so I went with Sauteed Garlicky Kale, which was a perfect match.

When I shared my effort on Instagram, I got quite the response.  Looks like we got a lot of Brazilians over there.  I had read about Farofa and really want to try making it, but have yet to find the Manioc meal to make it, despite all the comments that it is easy to find kosher, so if any of you can share your recipe and a picture, submit it here.  They also recommended enjoying a Caipirinha, a Brazilian cocktail made with Cachaca, a sugar cane liquor somewhat like Rum, the drink is made with lime and sugar, but for me is just missing the mint (I am a mojito girl).

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Tami made a special Brazilian Garlic and Onion Rice with Black Eyed Peas.  You can make it without the black eyed peas if serving with the Feijoda or with the beans for a complete vegetarian meal aside the collards.  Either way it is a traditional Brazilian recipe in it’s own right made with red palm oil, a staple in Brazilian cooking, but the real flavor comes from the garlic and onions.

She also shares here recipe for Slow Cooked Greens. This version uses a twist on refogato–a mixture of finely processed onions, garlic and peppers, Brazil’s version of the sofrito paste that is the hallmark of other Latino and Mediterranean cuisines, and in this dish, it’s truly yummy. This is what layering flavors is all about. It would be perfect alongside the feijoada.

For dessert I had a lot of recommendations for fried bananas and those would be yummy any time, but Tami wanted to go all out and made these Brazilian Style Coconut Truffle Cupcakes.

We hope our Brazilian fans enjoy these recipes and encourage you all to comment and share your versions of these and other Brazilian dishes.  We also hope that we inspire others to try some Brazilian recipes, invite some friends and have a Carnaval anytime.

Click here to read about how one family is keeping kosher in Salvador, Brazil.