Baião de dois

📜 Ingredients

• •dried cowpeas1 1/2 cups, about 300 g (10.5 oz)
• 🥩carne-de-sol400 g (14 oz)🔁 desalted charque — The flavor will be more cured and saltier; desalt it carefully before cooking.
• •white rice1 1/2 cups, about 270 g (9.5 oz)
• 🧄queijo coalho, cubed200 g (7 oz)🔁 firm queijo minas padrão — It melts more and has less spring, with a milder, less milky and salty flavor.
• 🧈manteiga de garrafa2 tablespoons🔁 regular butter — Regular butter provides fat, but lacks the characteristic toasted note.
• •diced bacon100 g (3.5 oz)
• •chopped onion1 medium onion
• •chopped garlic3 cloves
• •seeded, chopped tomato1 medium tomato
• •chopped cilantro1/2 cup
• •chopped scallions1/4 cup
• •hot waterenough to cook the beans and keep the rice moist
• •salt and black pepperto taste

👨‍🍳 Preparation

1. 1

   Rinse the cowpeas, cover them with plenty of water, and soak for 8 hours. At the same time, taste a small piece of carne-de-sol: if it is very salty, soak it in cold water in the refrigerator for 4–8 hours, changing the water two or three times. Drain everything before cooking.

   Carne-de-sol varies greatly from one producer to another; desalting by taste prevents an overly salty baião.

2. 2

   Cook the cowpeas in a pressure cooker, covered with fresh water, for 12–15 minutes after it reaches pressure, until tender but still intact. Let the pressure release, drain, and reserve 2 cups of the cooking liquid. Cut the carne-de-sol into strips, cover with fresh water, and cook over medium heat for 25–35 minutes, until tender; drain and shred or chop.

   The reserved cooking liquid is part of the recipe: it gives body to the rice and brings the two grains together.

3. 3

   Heat the manteiga de garrafa in a large pot over medium heat. Fry the bacon for 4–6 minutes, until golden and rendered. Add the carne-de-sol and sauté for 3–5 minutes, until the edges are browned. Remove a spoonful of fat if there is an excess.

   Bacon fat is a common variation; for a less intense pot, halve the bacon and keep the manteiga de garrafa.

4. 4

   In the same pot, sauté the onion for 3 minutes, until translucent, then the garlic for 30 seconds. Add the tomato and cook for 2 minutes, until it begins to break down. Add the rice and stir for 1 minute, coating the grains in the fat and aromatics.

   Do not add salt at this stage: the carne-de-sol and queijo coalho already bring salt.

5. 5

   Stir in the cowpeas and carne-de-sol. Add the reserved cooking liquid and enough hot water for the liquid to stand about 1 cm (3/8 in) above the grains. Cook over low heat, with the pot partially covered, for 15–18 minutes, until the rice is tender and the whole dish is moist, with no loose broth.

   If it dries out before the rice cooks, drizzle in more hot water a little at a time; the result should be creamy and cohesive, not soggy.

6. 6

   Turn off the heat and fold in the queijo coalho, cilantro, and scallions. Cover for 3–5 minutes, just until the cheese warms through and softens at the edges. Taste, adjust the pepper and salt only if needed, and serve at a candango table, where sharing matters as much as the pot itself.

   Queijo coalho should hold its shape; that is why it goes in off the heat.