Feijoada by sosij – smoked, white bean, sour onion

I met Ali (Sosij) a few years ago, and since then he’s been sending me sausages like phallic shaped love letters made of pork. I’ve been meaning to shoot some content with them, but this one just felt right.

Back when I was working in Farringdon, most of the chefs in the kitchen were Brazilian. That’s where I fell in love with the culture and mainly feijoada, proper home food rich beans, smoky meat, comfort that fills the wairua (soul). I picked up a bit of Portuguese along the way too, though I’d never repeat any of it outside a kitchen. It’s a beautiful language, even when its being spat at you in anger mid-service.

This dish is my nod to that time. It carries the soul of feijoada with maple smoked pineapple vinegar cutting through all that rich fat. it’s the kind of plate that just feels real.

ingredients

sausage

• 1–2 feijoada sausages ( you could use any sausages)

white bean purée

• 1 can cannellini or Alubia beans, drained and rinsed

• 1 garlic clove

• 1 tbsp pineapple vinegar

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• sea salt to taste

vinegar onions

• 1 red onion, thinly sliced

• 2 tbsp Maple smoked pineapple vinegar

• 1 tsp pickled pink peppercorns

• 1 tsp capers, chopped

• pinch of salt

herb oil

• a handful of parsley

• a few mint leaves

• 1 tsp dijon mustard

• 3 tbsp pumpkin seed oil (or olive oil)

• a few sprigs of tarragon

• pinch of urfa chilli

• sea salt to taste

method

smoke the sausages on the barbeque at 170°c for 30 minutes or until they reach an internal temperature of 70°c. the smoke should be light, clean, and aromatic just enough to lick the meat.

for the white bean purée, warm the beans and garlic in a pan with olive oil until soft. add vinegar and salt, then blend until smooth. keep warm.

for the vinegar onions, mix all ingredients in a small bowl and leave to soften for 15 minutes.

for the herb oil, hand chop all ingredients until smooth. add a touch more oil if needed to get that loose and sloppy.

to plate, spread the bean purée on the base, slice the sausage thickly and layer over the top. finish with vinegar onions and a drizzle of herb oil.