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Baião de DoisRice & Black-Eyed Peas

Arid Northeastern fusion.

Baião de Dois (Rice & Black-Eyed Peas) — Brazilian home cooking
Baião de Dois (Rice & Black-Eyed Peas) — Brazilian home cooking

Baião de Dois is an iconic Northeastern dish that combines white rice and black-eyed peas (feijão de corda) cooked together in a single pot. It is enriched with sun-dried beef (carne de sol), crisp bacon, Queijo Coalho cheese cubes, and aromatic bottle butter (manteiga de garrafa).

Ingredients

Method

  1. Desalt carne deDesalt carne de sol in cold water for 12 hours, then boil until tender and cut into small cubes
  2. In a wideIn a wide pot, crisp bacon and carne de sol in bottle butter over medium heat
  3. Add onions andAdd onions and garlic, sautéing until fragrant
  4. Stir in dryStir in dry long-grain white rice, tossing for 2 minutes to coat grains in fat
  5. Add cooked black-eyedAdd cooked black-eyed peas and 600 ml of reserved bean cooking broth
  6. Bring to aBring to a rolling boil (100°C), turn heat to low (85°C), cover, and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes until rice absorbs the liquid
  7. Remove from heatRemove from heat, fold in cubed Queijo Coalho and chopped cilantro, cover, and rest for 5 minutes
  8. The residual heatThe residual heat softens the cheese cubes slightly without melting them into the rice

Questions

How long does Baião de Dois take?

10 minutes of cooking — yielding several servings.

What cheese goes into baião de dois?

Queijo coalho or queijo de manteiga traditionally; a good halloumi or a firm fresco cheese that holds cubes through the stir works outside Brazil.

Is baião a side or a main?

Both, by intent: born as rice-and-beans cooked together with cheese, it stands alone with sausage or sun-dried beef stirred in, or serves beside grilled meat.