fey-zshu-AH-dah…

In my book, there’s no dish more typically Brazilian than feijoada. Served on special occasions, this Brazilian soul food dish must be approached with caution: It’s quite easy to eat oneself into a coma. I was given such an opportunity when good friends of B’s family, Duca (a long-time resident of Cabo Frio) and his wife Bernadette, invited us to their house on a Saturday afternoon for traditional feijoada -- quite an honor as far as I’m concerned. We had an incredible feijoada in Teresópolis, but I was slow on the draw that day and it was ravaged before I could get a shot of anything except a table full of plates with “tongue prints” (from people licking them clean, get it?). Let’s dissect a typical feijoada feast one delicious plate at a time. We’ll start with the starches and work our way up to the heavy stuff. As I’ve said before in this blog, most meals in Rio include white rice.Many times, meals also include farofa, made from the manioc root. Farofa often includes bits of sausage, greens, eggs and even prunes. At this feijoada, the farofa was pure manioc flour.Feijoada is not feijoada without couve, a type of greens. To avoid any appearance of being even remotely healthy, it is often smothered in some type of fat, like bacon grease. For me, it was an acquired taste. It serves a purpose similar to that of eating grass for canonical carnivores like dogs and wolves (however, no one really knows what this purpose is).About the healthiest thing you can expect at a feijoada is sliced oranges. It may seem unlikely, but they go perfectly with the meat. Feijoada is sometimes served with some meat and sausage on the side. Every once in a while, a lean peace of meat gets mixed up with the fat-laden stuff and must be removed carefully by the chef  before it is served, costing said chef any and all credibility with the ravenous hord awaiting true feijoada.. There is no such thing as a low-fat feijoada.The main feijoada dish is black beans with all kinds of pork cooked in. What more can I say? A carefully assembled feijoada plate is a sight to behold. This is the last image I remember before willingly slipping into a feijoada-induced coma. Compassionate hosts ensure at least one hammock is available on the premises, the only known treatment for this type of coma.Finally, feijoada must be accompanied by ice-cold beer and should be accompanied or quickly followed by a few shots of pure cachaça. I may be mistaken about this, but I believe Brazilian law calls for steep fines and weeks of community service if this detail is overlooked. Now that I think about it, may all meals should be accompanied by beer and cachaça.