Sausage and Bean stew

This recipe is a variation of this recipe. We used Salsiccia sausages and stora vita bönor, which we substituted for lima beans. I don't know if these are the same or different.

Ingredients:

• Cooking oil
• 900g-1kg Raw salsiccia sausage
• 1 pack bacon
• 4 onions, sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 tsp hot chilli powder or smoked paprika
• 2, 400g crushed canned tomatoes
• 300ml chicken stock
• 4 tbsp tomato purée
• 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 4 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
• 3 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 2 bay leaves
• 3–4 tsp frozen thyme
• 200ml water
• 3, 400g big white bean cans
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Cook the sausages for 10 minutes on medium high heat until brown on all sides and set aside.
2. Fry the bacon pieces in the frying pan until they begin to brown
3. Place the onions in the frying pan and fry over a medium heat for until they start to soften.
4. Add the garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes more until the onions turn pale golden-brown.
5. Sprinkle over the chilli powder or smoked paprika and cook together for a few more minutes.
6. Stir in the tomatoes, chicken stock, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and herbs.
7. Pour over the water and bring to a simmer.
8. Use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the sausages into thick discs and add the sliced sausages and bacon to the stew. Let it cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
9. Drain the beans and rinse. Stir the beans into the casserole, and continue to cook for 10 more minutes or on very low heat until the sauce is thick. 
10. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Brazilian Feijoada

I've made this recipe 3-4 times now and it is this rich, fatty stew that is perfect for cold fall or snow days. It is very flavourful but has very little spice. I followed a couple of different recipes for this over the years but this is a good basis. Major differences are that I usually use this recipe as a vehicle for goan sausage and I use canned black beans instead of fresh. We also love the braised kale/collard greens recipe that is traditionally served with this.

Ingredients

• 3-4 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 pack streaky smoked bacon, cut into slices or 1 pack of smoked pork belly, cut into chunks
• 500g-1000g pork rib or pork shoulder or some other cheap, tough cut of pork
• 3 chorizo cooking sausages/ 1 pack goan sausages/ 1 pack chorizo
• 800g-1.5kg brined bone-in pork leg (rimmat fläsklägg), soaked in water for a few hours, skin removed, cut into a few large pieces
• 3 onion, chopped
• 8 garlic clove, smashed
• Few pinches of chilli flakes
• olive oil, for cooking
• 4 bay leaf
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
• To serve: steamed rice, chopped parsley or spring onions and wedges of oranges

Method

1. Heat a large heavy-based dutch oven and add the bacon/ pork belly and fry until crisp. Remove and keep the oil in the pan. In batches sear the brined pork, sausages and pork shoulder/ribs. Season with pepper, but because of the brined pork, do not salt until the very end. 
2. Remove the meat and set aside. Add the onion, garlic and bay leaves to the dutch oven and fry for 8-12 mins or until soft. 
3. Add the meat, bay leaves, white wine vinegar, chilli flakes and half the beans. Cover with just enough water to cover, about 1000ml. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a low simmer. Cover and cook for 2 hrs, or until the meat is tender. If there is too much liquid in the pot take the lid off in the last hr. Add the remaining beans for the last hour. 
4. In the last 15 minutes, remove the meat pieces and shred them into large chunks and remove the bones and bay leaves. Spoon a few table spoons of th
   e beans into a bowl and smash with a fork or pulse in a blender and add back to the stew. 
5. Taste and add salt as needed (I've never needed to add salt) 
6. You can also use a slow cooker (4 hr) starting at the end of step 3.

Update 2023: I have now made this many times, most recently with sausage I picked up in Lisbon, fresh sausage, without rimmat fläsk, just fläsk karre. Also, apple cider vinegar instead of white wine. Made no difference, it was still delicious. 

 

I followed this recipe and we had yummy collard greens on the side with slices of orange.