Brazilian Bean Purée (Tutu de Feijão)
Tutu de feijão Say it: too-TOO deh fay-ZHOW
Tutu de feijão is the sturdy bean purée that anchors a plate from Minas Gerais. Black beans are cooked soft, mashed, then thickened with finely ground cassava meal and a savoury base of bacon, linguiça, onion and garlic until it sits somewhere between porridge and soft polenta. It is everyday home food, eaten with rice and collard greens, and it tastes deep and smoky with a gentle sweetness from the beans. Spooned beside crisp pork crackling or a fried egg, it is the very picture of a Brazilian country table.
Brazilian Bean Purée (Tutu de Feijão)
Tutu de feijão
Pronounced too-TOO deh fay-ZHOW
- Serves
- 6
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 30 min
- Total
- 1 hr 50 min
- Level
- Easy
Also nut-free and egg-free.
Allergens: none of the major allergens in the listed ingredients. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
Beans
Savoury base
To finish
Method
Put the beans in a large bowl, cover with plenty of cold water and soak overnight, then drain. (For a quick soak, boil them for 2 minutes, cover and stand 1 hour.)
Transfer the beans to a heavy pot with the 8 cups (2 L) water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then lower the heat and simmer partly covered for 60–75 minutes, until the beans crush easily between your fingers and the skins start to split.
Scoop out and reserve 2 cups (480 ml) of the cooking liquid, then drain the beans, discarding the bay leaves. Mash them with a potato masher, or pulse about two-thirds of them in a blender with a little cooking liquid and stir back into the rest — you want a thick purée with some whole beans left for texture.
In a wide heavy pot, heat the lard over medium heat. Add the bacon and linguiça and fry for 6–8 minutes, until the bacon is golden and the fat has rendered.
Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, until soft and translucent, then stir in the garlic and tomato and cook 2–3 minutes more, until fragrant and the tomato has collapsed.
Stir the mashed beans into the pot with 1½ cups (360 ml) of the reserved cooking liquid. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, so the flavours come together.
Sprinkle the cassava meal in a little at a time, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, and cook for 5–8 minutes, until the tutu is thick like soft polenta and a spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a clean trail.
Loosen with a splash more cooking liquid if it seems stiff, or add another spoonful of cassava meal if it is loose. Season with salt and black pepper, stir through the parsley, and serve hot.
Regional variant: Tutu à Mineira (cornmeal version)
Replace the cassava meal with ½ cup (70 g) coarse cornmeal (fubá), toasted in a dry pan for 2–3 minutes until it smells nutty. Stir it into the beans the same way but simmer 10–12 minutes so the cornmeal cooks through, adding extra bean liquid as needed. The result is slightly sweeter and more rustic, with a faint graininess rather than a silky smooth texture.
Cook's notes
- Stir constantly once the cassava meal goes in and keep the heat low — tutu scorches quickly on the base of the pot.
- Add the meal gradually and off the boil for a lump-free result; it thickens more as it stands, so keep it slightly looser than you want it.
- The bean cooking liquid is free flavour — use it to adjust consistency instead of plain water.
Serve with
White rice, sautéed collard greens (couve refogada), crisp pork crackling and a fried egg; ice-cold beer or a shot of cachaça.
Make ahead and storage
Keeps 3 days covered in the fridge and freezes well for 2 months; reheat gently with a splash of water, as it firms up considerably when cold.
