As I said they tasted kind of bland to me, which surprised me having a pound
of linguiça in it. Not to mention the half pound of bacon. But DH said
they were just like Mom and Grandma use to make and he loved them. Lynne

Feijão à Portuguesa
(Portuguese Beans)
By Mrs. Leite
Serves 6 generously


All over Portugal beans are a traditional side dish to pork, chicken, fish
and beef. Every Portuguese cook has her own version, which, naturally, she
claims to be the best. This is a faithful adaptation of a very old recipe
from my family. Depending on the size and age of the beans you use, the
cooking time could vary considerably.

1 pound dried navy, small California white or great northern beans, washed
and sorted
1/2 pound bacon
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 pound chouriço, linguiça or Spanish chorizo, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1 tablespoon paprika
Salt and pepper


Method
1. Soak the beans overnight in enough cold water to cover by several inches.
2. Drain the beans and set aside. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, fry the
bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
3. Pour off all but 2 or 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat, add the onions and
sauté until a dark golden brown. Add the garlic and cook until it just
begins to color.
4. Add the beans, water, tomato paste, chouriço, red pepper flakes and
paprika. Cover and let simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the beans are
tender, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Crumble the bacon into
the beans and season with salt and pepper. Cook 10 minutes more then serve
immediately.
NOTE: If the beans threaten to dry out, add water; if they're watery, remove
the cover for the last 1/2 hour of cooking.

On Mar 1, 6:53 pm, "King's Crown" > wrote:
> As I said they tasted kind of bland to me, which surprised me having a pound
> of linguiça in it. Not to mention the half pound of bacon. But DH said
> they were just like Mom and Grandma use to make and he loved them. Lynne
>[snip]

Well if he loved them, fine, but the recipe seems a little off to me.
The specified 4 cups of water isn't even enough to cover a pound of
soaked beans, to start with; frying the bacon crisp is unusual in this
kind of dish and loses the flavor from the fat; and personally I'd
find that much tomato paste to be overpowering but that's just my
taste. -aem

"aem" > wrote in message
ups.com...
On Mar 1, 6:53 pm, "King's Crown" > wrote:
> As I said they tasted kind of bland to me, which surprised me having a
> pound
> of linguiça in it. Not to mention the half pound of bacon. But DH said
> they were just like Mom and Grandma use to make and he loved them. Lynne
>[snip]

Well if he loved them, fine, but the recipe seems a little off to me.
The specified 4 cups of water isn't even enough to cover a pound of
soaked beans, to start with; frying the bacon crisp is unusual in this
kind of dish and loses the flavor from the fat; and personally I'd
find that much tomato paste to be overpowering but that's just my
taste. -aem

I worried about the water too and kept a close eye on it and it actually
worked out fine. All the fat from the bacon went into browning up the
onions, so it was there. I also wondered if it was the tomato paste that
threw me off as well. Normally, I'd put a tablespoon or 2 in a recipe like
this. It might be just something I make special for DH once a year to bring
back fond childhood memories of his mother's and grandmother's cooking.
I'll smear a little around on my plate and pretend to enjoy it. One day out
of a year ... I won't starve.

Lynne