A Brazilian bar and festa favourite derived from the country's deep black-bean tradition, served as an appetiser especially during the cold-weather festas juninas.
Thick, warm and silky, it coats the mouth with earthy, savoury black-bean depth. Smoky bacon and sausage add salty crunch and a meaty edge in every sip. Cosy and satisfying in a single small cup.
Blending the fully softened beans releases their starches and emulsifies them with the cooking liquid into a naturally thick, creamy broth without any added flour or cream.
Variations
spiced with chilli, topped with farofa, with cachaca splash, garnished with sour cream
On the Palate
Where Caldinho de Feijão sits in the Brazilian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 6How it's made
8 steps · 15 min
- 120 min
Soak dried black beans overnight, then drain.
- 240 min
Simmer the beans with bay leaves and water until very soft.
Watch outSimmer the beans until they crush easily between two fingers — under-soft beans won't blend into that silky broth.
- 36 min
Saute chopped onion, garlic and some of the bacon to build a flavour base.
- 43 min
Add the cooked beans with their liquid to the aromatics.
- 54 min
Blend the mixture until completely smooth and velvety.
Watch outBlend until completely smooth and velvety — any grit or lumps left and it won't have that creamy, flour-free body.
- 610 min
Return to the pot and simmer to the desired pourable consistency, seasoning to taste.
Watch outSimmer back down to a just-pourable thickness — the released bean starch does the thickening, so watch it doesn't turn to paste.
- 76 min
Fry the remaining bacon and sliced sausage until crisp.
Watch outFry the bacon and sausage until genuinely crisp — that crunch on top is the contrast against the creamy broth.
- 82 min
Ladle into small cups and top with the crisp bacon and sausage.
