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1
Crisp the bacon
5 minutes
Medium-high heat 180°C (350°F)
Heat a large, wide pan over medium-high heat, about 180°C (350°F). Add the bacon cubes (120 g) and fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until crisp and the fat has rendered. Lift out the bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside, leaving the fat in the pan.
If the bacon is lean and renders little fat, add the olive oil (15 ml) before the sausage goes in.
Done when: Bacon crisp and golden, fat rendered in the pan.
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2
Fry the sausage, onion and garlic
8 minutes
Medium-high heat 180°C (350°F)
Add the calabresa cubes (150 g) to the same fat and fry for 5 minutes until browned at the edges and cooked through to 71°C (160°F). Add the onion (100 g) and garlic (12 g) and cook for 3 minutes more until soft and sweet-smelling.
Scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan as the onion cooks — that is where the smoky flavour lives.
Done when: Sausage browned and cooked through to 71°C (160°F), onion soft.
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3
Scramble the egg
2 minutes
Medium heat 160°C (320°F)
Push everything to one side of the pan, pour the beaten eggs (100 g) into the empty side and scramble gently for 2 minutes until just set in soft curds. Do not overcook them — they finish cooking with the beans.
Take the egg off the heat while it still looks slightly wet — it keeps cooking in the hot pan.
Done when: Egg in soft, just-set curds, still glossy.
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4
Fold in the beans
5 minutes
Medium heat 160°C (320°F)
Add the drained beans (600 g) and the reserved bacon to the pan and fold everything together. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the beans are hot right through and the pan is almost dry — you should hear a light sizzle, not a simmer.
If the pan is still wet, keep cooking for a few more minutes before the flour goes in — wet beans make a paste.
Done when: Beans hot through, pan almost dry, light sizzle.
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5
Stir in the flour and greens
5 minutes
Medium heat 160°C (320°F)
Sprinkle the cassava flour (120 g) over the pan a handful at a time, folding it in as you go, then add the sliced collard greens (100 g). Cook for 5 minutes more, stirring, until the flour has toasted, the greens have wilted and the whole pan is dry, crumbly and smoky. Season with salt (3 g) only if needed and the black pepper (1 g).
Add the flour slowly — dumping it all at once makes clumps that never break up.
Done when: Flour toasted and crumbly, greens wilted, pan dry, no wet spots.
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6
Finish and serve
5 minutes
Room temperature, about 20°C (68°F)
Take the pan off the heat, fold in the parsley (10 g) and serve at once with white rice, extra collard greens and a slice of orange on the side.
Serve straight from the pan — tropeiro beans cool fast and lose their crumbly texture as they sit.
Done when: Parsley folded in, dish hot, dry and crumbly.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Taste and adjust before serving: a little more salt only if the bacon was lean, a crack of black pepper, and a last handful of parsley. Serve at once, while the flour is still dry and crumbly — tropeiro beans that sit too long go soft and heavy.
Brazil
1h 5m
