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Lamb feijoada with mango salsa

Brazilian-inspired Lamb Feijoada with Mango Salsa

Published on April 2, 2017 • Last updated January 28, 2019 by
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In collaboration with Tasty, Easy Lamb.

Lamb feijoada with mango salsa

As a foodie, I spend a lot of time browsing recipes online looking for new dishes and flavour combinations to try out. Earlier on this month saw the annual Rio Carnival in Brazil, and so my Facebook timeline was filled with all sorts of fabulous Brazillian recipes and photos (wouldn’t it be amazing to see that carnival in person one day?!).

Brazil’s national dish is feijoada, a black bean meat stew. Like any national dish, there are as many recipe variations as there are families who make it. The one thing that all the recipes have in common, though, are black beans and at least three kinds of meat – fresh, dried and salted and smoked. These are usually fresh pork or beef, and a jerked beef called carne seca. This is not to be mistaken for beef jerky, which is an entirely different meat product, but this salted, cured and dried beef reminded me of our own, more local, reestit mutton.

Reestit Mutton hanging on shed

Reestit Mutton is a variation of the Scandinavian skerpikjøt, an air dried mutton, or vivda, Norse for ‘leg meat’. It is a traditional Shetland way of preserving mutton with salt for consumption during the winter months. The mutton is first salted in brine and was then traditionally hung in the rafters (reest) of houses, where the peat smoke with add flavour and help preserve the meat. It could very likely be called Shetland’s national dish, and this led me to think – could I recreate Brazil’s national stew with some local lamb and reestit mutton? Well worth experimenting, no?

For my recipe, I’ve used fresh cubed lamb shoulder, lamb ribs that my local butcher kindly cut down to size, shredded reestit mutton and some smoked pancetta. To save time I’ve used tinned black beans, but if you want a more traditional looking stew use dried beans, soak them overnight and then cook them in the stew itself.

My local Shetland butchers, Anderson Butchers in Brugarth, Whiteness, do mail order – they’ll ship reestit mutton to the mainland for you if you ring them and ask nicely. You could always substitute this dried, salted mutton with some dried pork or smoked sausages, depending on what you can find in your own local butchers. I’ve seen some recipes use chorizo, while others include pig’s trotters, ears and feet. Like I said, there are many variations – I suppose there’s no right or wrong way to do it – just throw in what you fancy!

Lamb feijoada with mango salsa

The resulting slow cooked stew is rich and hearty, and not too spicy either. Serve with a side of white rice, sauteed greens and orange slices for a traditional meal, or, like I’ve done, with a side of mango salsa and an extra dash of chilli flakes. Oh, and don’t forget the Brazillian beer and the football match!

Lamb feijoada with mango salsa

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Lamb feijoada with mango salsa

Brazilian-inspired Lamb Feijoada with Mango Salsa

A hearty and rich lamb variation of Brazil's national dish - feijoada. Serve with salsa, sauteed greens and orange slices.
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Elizabeth

Ingredients

for the lamb feijoada

for the mango salsa

  • 1 mango finely chopped
  • 140 grams fresh ripe tomatoes finely chopped
  • 50 grams red onion finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 handful fresh parsley finely chopped
  • 1 large garlic clove finely chopped
  • 1 lime juice only
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

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Instructions 

for the lamb feijoada

  • Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan over a medium-high heat. Saute the onions, garlic and chilli until they begin to soften but not colour - between 5-10 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, dredge the cubed lamb shoulder in seasoned flour. Add the remaining sunflower oil to a heavy based skillet and brown the dredged lamb on all sides, and then brown the lamb ribs and then the pancetta. If you're running short of time (or inclination) just add all the unbrowned meat to the onion mixture and skip the browning step.
  • Add the smoked paprika and tomato puree to the onion mixture and stir well.
  • Add the lamb shoulder, ribs, reestit mutton and pancetta to the onion mixture. Add the lamb stock and the bay leaves.
  • Reduce the heat and simmer, on medium-low with the lid on for 1.5 hours.
  • Remove the lid and simmer for another 30 minutes, until the liquid has reduced a bit.
  • Mash 1/4 of the black beans and stir through the stew to thicken it, and then add the remaining black beans. Cook for a further 15-30 minutes until thick and glossy.
  • Stir in the chopped coriander leaves and the lime juice. Serve with sauteed greens, mango salsa and orange slices.

for the mango salsa

  • Combine all the ingredients together in a bowl, stir well and keep in the fridge until needed.

Notes

Reestit Mutton is a variation of the Scandinavian skerpikjøt, an air dried mutton, or vivda, Norse for 'leg meat'. It's not widely available on the mainland, but you could either order it from Shetland, or omit this ingredient and season the stew with a little extra salt. If you are using reestit mutton, cover a 600 gram or larger piece in cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for two hours. Cool and pick off all the meat and add to the recipe.
If using dried black beans, soak 250 grams of beans in plenty of cold water overnight. Then, either boil them in fresh water for 30 minutes until cooked, or drain the soaking water and add directly to the stew to cook. Cooking them in the stew will result in a more traditional darker coloured dish.

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About Elizabeth

Solivagant. Foodie. Calls Shetland home.

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Comments

  2. Jessi

    What a great combination of a healthy ingredients!!! It looks amazingly delicious in those beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing:)

    Reply

  3. Katie Bryson

    This looks like a hug in a casserole dish to me… YUM! Sadly my veggie husband and casserole averse children would not appreciate this, but next time we have my mum to stay I might just have to make it coz I know it’s the kind of thing, like me, she’d LOVE!

    Reply

  8. Camilla Hawkins

    Wow Elizabeth, this dish looks worthy of a restaurant menu, you are lucky to have such a fine butcher and plentiful supply of local lamb and mutton:-)

    Reply

    • Elizabeth

      Aw thanks Camilla! 😀 I am very lucky to have such fab butchers. They’re lovely folk and I’d highly recommend that everyone shops at their local butchers!

      Reply

  14. Andrea @ The Petite Cook

    I went to Brazil a couple o years ago and absolutely loved feijoada, but never attempted to remake it at home. Love your interpretation of feijoada, and I think the mango salsa pairs perfectly, I’ll definitely give it a try!

    Reply

    • Elizabeth

      I would love to visit the country and try the authentic dish for myself one day. Glad you like my interpretation. Do let me know how you get on if you do make it yourself! 🙂

      Reply

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