Feijoada

Method

1. 1.Soak the black beans overnight in plenty of cold water. They'll double in size, so use a bigger bowl than you think you need. Drain and rinse them the next day.
2. 2.Put the beans in a large, heavy pot and cover them with fresh water by a good 5 cm. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, then lower the heat and let them simmer gently while you deal with the meat.
3. 3.Cut the smoked sausage into thick coins and the pork ribs into individual ribs if they're still in a rack. Brown the sausage, ribs and bacon in a wide pan in batches — don't crowd it or the meat will steam instead of browning, and the browning is where a lot of the flavour lives. Add each batch to the bean pot as you go.
4. 4.In the same pan with the rendered fat, soften the chopped onion and garlic over medium heat until they're translucent and sweet, about five minutes. Scrape up any dark bits stuck to the bottom of the pan — that's all flavour — and add this to the beans as well.
5. 5.Drop in the bay leaves and a few grinds of black pepper. Let the whole pot simmer, partially covered, for about two hours. Stir every now and then and top up with a splash of hot water if the liquid drops below the beans. You want a thick, dark, glossy broth by the end — not watery, not dry.
6. 6.About halfway through, scoop out a ladle of beans, mash them to a rough paste and stir it back in. This is the trick that gives feijoada its body — the starch thickens the sauce without you adding anything else.
7. 7.Taste for salt towards the end. The smoked meat brings a lot of its own, so you may not need much. A squeeze of orange juice stirred in at the last minute is traditional and lifts the whole pot — it sounds odd but it works.
8. 8.Serve in deep bowls over white rice, with farofa scattered on top, wilted collard greens on the side, and orange slices for squeezing. It's a Saturday afternoon kind of meal, not something you rush.

Notes