Dish of Feijão Tropeiro
(click to enlarge)

Beans Tropeiro


Chile   -   Feijão Tropeiro
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 2-1/4 #
***
1-1/3 hrs
Yes		 This popular recipe is derived from the "cuisine" of the 17th century mule drovers of southern Brazil. It is somewhat modernized, see History.

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10
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Carioca Beans (1)
Bay Leaf
Onion
Garlic
Collard Greens (2)
Bacon, thick
Calabrisa Sausage (3) 
Eggs
Manioc Farina (4)
Salt
Pepper, black
-- Garnish
Parsley
Scallions

Do-Ahead   -   (9 hrs - 10 min work))
  1. Soak dried BEANS 8 hrs or overnight in 3 cups Water with 1/2 T Salt (yes, salt).
  2. Drain Beans and rinse. Simmer with Bay Leaf in Water to cover until tender but still mostly intact, 30 to 50 minutes. Drain.
Prep   -   (45 min)
  1. Quarter ONION lengthwise and slice fairly thin crosswise. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix.
  2. Remove thick stems from COLLARDS. Roll up a stack of leaf halves into a sausage form, then cut thin crosswise. When released, cut a few times across the strips to make them shorter.
  3. Dice BACON fairly small.
  4. Slice SAUSAGES a little less than 1/4 inch thick. If larger, like Kielbasa, cut slices into half moons.
  5. For Garnish, chop PARSLEY and SCALLIONS. Mix.
Run   -   (35 min)
  1. In a bowl, beat Eggs moderately.
  2. in a spacious sauté pan (3 quart), skillet, or wok, fry Bacon over moderate heat until getting crisp. Stir in Sausage and fry stirring another 3 minutes.
  3. Stir in Onion mix and fry stirring until translucent.
  4. Push everything off to one side of the pan. Pour Eggs into the empty space. Fry, breaking up the eggs as they set to create shards of egg - then stir everything together
  5. Stir in Collards and fry stirring until coated with oil and wilted.
  6. Stir in Beans. At this point you can stir in a Tablespoon or so of water and cover the pan to warm up the beans without too much stirring.
  7. Season with Salt and Pepper.
  8. Stir in Manioc Farina a little at a time until it is how you like it. The Farina should get just a little moist. If doing ahead for buffet, do this step just before serving.
  9. Serve hot, garnished with Parsley mix. This dish is often served with Steamed Rice on the side, and a topping of Pork Rinds.
NOTES:

  1. Carioca Beans:

      This is the dominant bean in Brazil, except in the Rio de Janeiro region where black beans prevail. They are scarce in North America, but can be had on-line. Otherwise, our Pinto Beans, though significantly larger, have been extensively market tested in Brazil, and have been found a suitable alternative. For details see our entry for Carioca Beans. The photo example was made with Carioca Beans.

  2. Collard Greens:

      [Couve (Portuguese)]   The "Collards" of Portugal, West Africa, and presumably southern Brazil, are a broad leafed Kale. While it looks like our Collards, it is much more tender, but we don't have broad leaf Kale in North America. Our Collards came from Scotland, where you have to be really tough to be a leafy green, so cutting into rather fine shreds is essential. For the photo example, my local produce market didn't have Collards, but had plenty of non-curly Tuscan Kale, which worked fine.

  3. Calabrisa Sausage

      This sausage is native to Brazil, and imperfectly available in North America. Other smoked sausages can be used, like Spanish Chorizo (NOT Mexican) or Kielbasa (usually larger, so cut into half moons. For details see our entry for Linguiça Calabresa.

  4. Manioc Farina

      This is a granular fermented Cassava meal, which is essentially identical to West African Gari. Farina comes in plain or toasted, while Gari is plain. Plain, in either case, needs to be dry pan roasted until lightly colored for this recipe. For details see our Cassava / Manioc / Yuca page.

  5. History:

      Tropeiros were Drovers, of Mules, Horses and Cattle, they who carried on the commerce of southern Brazil in the 17th century, before there were any roads. Their recipe was composed of foods that could be carried long distances, in hot weather, without refrigeration. It originally included Dried Beef, one of the cargos carried by the Tropeiros. Collards, of course, were not included, so this is a more modern version, though the Tropeiros may have used local plants to ward off scurvy. Several of my most trustworthy sources (most in Portuguese) call for Couve, so I accept Collards as "authentic" for 21st century Brazil. If you want to be more "original" you can leave them out, but to be really original, you need to include dried beef.
  6. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste

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