Baião de dois: a traditional rice and beans recipe from northeastern Brazil

Baião de dois is a traditional dish from northeastern Brazil, especially Ceará and the sertão countryside. It combines rice and cowpeas or black-eyed peas with coalho cheese and dried beef. Together, these ingredients create a hearty, creamy meal full of flavor.

Ingredients for baião de dois

This recipe serves six. You will need 300 g of desalted, shredded dried beef; 2 cups of rice; and 2 cups of cooked cowpeas, with their cooking liquid reserved.

Also prepare 200 g of diced coalho cheese, 1 chopped onion and 2 crushed garlic cloves. For the finish, set aside chopped cilantro and scallions. Use bottled clarified butter, known as manteiga de garrafa, or oil as needed.

Finally, have salt ready, but season carefully: the dried beef may still contain enough salt for the dish.

How to prepare baião de dois

First, sauté the shredded beef in the butter until lightly golden. Then remove it from the pan and set it aside. In the same pan, sauté the onion and garlic. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for two minutes.

Next, add the cooked beans and some of their reserved liquid. Top up with water if necessary. Cook over low heat until the rice becomes tender.

After that, return the beef to the pan and mix well. Add the diced coalho cheese and let it soften slightly. Finally, sprinkle the cilantro and scallions over the dish before serving.

Serving a northeastern Brazilian classic

Baião de dois often comes with strained yogurt or grilled coalho cheese on the side. These accompaniments reinforce the flavors associated with the sertão’s cuisine.

Moreover, rice, beans, beef and cheese come together in a single filling dish. It is an inviting recipe for a family meal and a taste of northeastern Brazil at home.