Feijoada is Brazil's national dish, a long simmered stew of black beans and many kinds of meat that families across the southeast serve at a leisurely Saturday lunch, and that São Paulo restaurants traditionally put on the menu on Wednesdays too. Its origins are argued over, but its spirit is not: it is food for a crowded table and an afternoon with nowhere else to be.

The plate is a whole system. Rice soaks up the dark broth, collard greens and orange slices cut through the richness, and farofa, toasted cassava flour, adds crunch. Start it in the morning of the São Paulo Grand Prix and it will be ready long before the lights go out at Interlagos.

The beans and meats

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) dried black beans
• 1 lb (450 g) carne seca
• 1 1/2 lb (680 g) pork spare ribs
• 8 oz (225 g) slab bacon
• 12 oz (340 g) linguiça
• 8 oz (225 g) paio
• 2 yellow onions
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• about 3 quarts (2.8 liters) water
• kosher salt

Method

1. Put the soaked carne seca in a pot of fresh water, bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Drain and throw away the water. This removes the last of the excess salt.
2. Put the drained black beans, carne seca and bay leaves in the large pot with enough water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, cook the bacon in the skillet over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Lift it into the bean pot with a slotted spoon. Brown the ribs in the bacon fat in batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side, then the sausage slices for 3 minutes, adding each to the pot.
4. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the skillet. Cook the onions over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, add the garlic for 1 minute, then scrape everything into the pot.
5. Add the pepper and enough water to keep everything just covered. Simmer gently, partly covered, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring every 20 minutes and scraping the bottom. Add a little hot water if it gets too thick.
6. Scoop out 2 ladles of beans with a little broth, mash them with a fork into a paste and stir it back in. Taste and add salt carefully, as the meats are salty. Remove the bay leaves.

White rice

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (500 g) long grain white rice
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) neutral oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 1/2 cups (1 liter) boiling water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Method

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the drained rice. Stir for 2 minutes, the Brazilian way.
2. Add the boiling water and salt, bring back to a boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 15 to 18 minutes. Rest off the heat, covered, for 5 minutes and fluff with a fork.

Couve, garlicky collard greens

Ingredients

• 2 bunches collard greens
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

1. Cut out the thick central stems. Stack 6 leaves, roll them into a tight cigar and slice across as thinly as you can, into ribbons about 1/16 inch (2 mm) wide.
2. Heat the oil in the skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic for 30 seconds, then the greens and salt, and toss for 2 to 3 minutes only.

Farofa

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons (40 g) butter
• 1/2 small onion
• 1 1/2 cups (200 g) cassava flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

1. Melt the butter in the skillet over medium heat and cook the onion for 4 minutes until soft. Add the cassava flour and salt and stir constantly for 5 to 7 minutes.

To serve

Ingredients

• 3 oranges

Method

1. Cut the peel and white pith from the oranges with a knife and slice them into rounds. Arrange on a plate.

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