Feijoada - Brazil's "National Dish"

It was inevitable that sooner or later Flavors of Brazil would come face-to-face with the dish that most gastronomes, culinary historians and sociologists call the national dish of Brazil - feijoada. A blog about Brazilian food without feijoada would be like an Italian food blog missing pizza, or an English food blog without spotted dick. Feijoada is the elephant in the room, so it's time to discuss it here on Flavors of Brazil.

There is no such thing as a "national dish" in Brazil, in the sense that feijoada has no official status in this country. Unlike acarajé and Mineiro cheese, feijoada has not been recognized as part of Brazil's cultural patrimony by IPHAN, the governmental body charged with compiling such a list. (Click here to read about IPHAN and  acarajé.)

Nonetheless, feijoada has been crowned with the status of "national dish" in countless books, newspapers, magazines and web posts worldwide, so I think such status is by now a fait accompli.

In upcoming posts, I'll discuss the history of this dish, it's composition, and a few recipes. LIke many other iconic, traditional dishes there is not a single "official" recipe for feijoada. Every Brazilian's favorite feijoada is the one made by his or her mother, grandmother or childhood maid. Consequently, recipes are innumerable. However, Flavors of Brazil will try to provide a few recipes for readers to create a truly Brazilian experience in their own homes. Feijoada is a great party dish, and is not difficult to make. Ingredients are available almost everywhere, so it's easily doable almost everywhere, by almost everyone.

More to come....