Marmita PF Montada

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 4-liter pot for beans
• •Medium 2-liter pot with lid for rice
• •Wide 30 cm skillet for browning chicken
• •Large skillet for greens
• •6 freezer-safe containers, 3-cup capacity each

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the beans

   Put the beans in a bowl, cover with plenty of water, and soak for at least 8 hours. They should look plumper and a little wrinkled by morning. This isn't fussiness: soaked beans cook more evenly and sit easier in your stomach, which matters when you're eating them all week.

2. 2

   Cook the beans

   Drain the soaked beans and put them in a heavy pot with 8 cups water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer with the lid slightly open. Cook until a bean crushes easily against the roof of your mouth, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. If the water drops below the beans, add more hot water. Dry beans scorch, and scorched beans are a grudge in a pot.

   No seasoning packet. The packet is salt and powder wearing a little costume. A real refogado will give you better flavor and teach your hand what good beans need.
3. 3

   Build the refogado

   Warm 2 tablespoons oil in a small pan over medium heat. Add half of one chopped onion and cook until soft and see-through, about 5 minutes. Add 3 minced garlic cloves and cook for 1 minute, just until you smell it. Garlic burns fast and turns bitter, so stay there. This base is where the beans become feijão, not just beans in water.

4. 4

   Thicken the caldo

   Scoop one ladle of cooked beans and liquid into the refogado and mash it hard with a spoon. Stir this mashed mixture back into the pot, add 2 teaspoons salt, and simmer 10 minutes. The mashed beans thicken the caldo naturally, making it glossy and creamy instead of watery. No powder doing a bean's job.

5. 5

   Make arroz soltinho

   Warm 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot. Add the remaining half onion and cook until it murcha, soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and stir for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir for 2 minutes, until the grains look shiny and separate. Pour in 4 cups hot water and 1 teaspoon salt, bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and rest 10 minutes before fluffing. Don't stir while it cooks. Stirring releases starch, and starch is how fluffy rice turns into paste.

6. 6

   Season the chicken

   Toss the chicken with lime juice, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, paprika or colorau, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Let it sit while the rice rests, about 10 minutes. That's enough time for the surface seasoning to do its work without turning this into a project.

7. 7

   Brown in batches

   Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wide pan until it looks loose and shiny. Add the chicken in batches, leaving space between the pieces, and cook until deeply browned on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Pull each batch out before adding the next. I know dumping it all in feels efficient. Don't. Crowd the pan and the chicken releases water, the heat drops, and you're steaming grey pieces instead of dourar, building color and flavor.

8. 8

   Finish the chicken

   Return all the chicken to the pan. Add 1/2 cup water and scrape the browned bits from the bottom with a spoon. Simmer 5 to 8 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the pan liquid turns glossy and coats the pieces. Those brown bits are flavor you already paid for, so bring them back into the food.

9. 9

   Refogar the greens

   Warm 1 tablespoon butter or oil in a large pan. Add the remaining 3 minced garlic cloves and stir for 30 seconds, then add the sliced collards with a pinch of salt. Toss until the greens turn bright, glossy, and just tender, about 3 minutes. Stop there. Cook them too long and they go dull and tired, and a gente didn't do all this work to put sad greens in a good marmita.

10. 10

    Assemble the marmitas

    Set out 6 freezer-safe containers. Add about 3/4 cup rice to each one, then 1/2 cup beans with caldo, a portion of chicken, and a portion of greens. Keep farofa in a separate little container if using, because frozen farofa loses its crunch. The plate should look like a PF, not a pile: rice, beans, browned chicken, green. Order helps you eat well even when you're tired.

11. 11

    Cool and store

    Let the open containers cool until they are no longer hot to the touch, about 20 to 30 minutes, then lid them and refrigerate or freeze. Don't leave them sitting out all afternoon while you admire your organization. Food safety is not decoration. Refrigerate what you'll eat within 4 days and freeze the rest for up to 3 months.

12. 12

    Reheat properly

    Reheat from chilled with the lid loose until hot all the way through, adding a spoonful of water over the rice or beans if they look dry. From frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge or reheat gently in stages. The water brings back moisture, because freezing and reheating steal it. Finish with the lime or orange wedge if using, and add farofa after heating.

Chef Tips

• •Make the beans first, because they take the longest and forgive you the most. While they simmer, cook the rice, slice the greens, and season the chicken. That's not chef magic. That's just using the waiting time.
• •Chicken thighs are friendlier for marmita than breast. They stay juicier after freezing and reheating. Use breast if that's what you have, but cook it a little less aggressively or it'll turn dry and start acting superior.
• •The honest shortcut: use canned beans on a desperate Tuesday, rinse them, simmer with bay leaf, and still build the refogado. It won't taste like a slow pot, but it will be real food. The packet pretending to season dinner can stay on the shelf.
• •Keep farofa separate until serving. In the container, it drinks moisture and gives up. On top after reheating, it brings crunch back to the plate.
• •Swap the chicken for a fried egg only if you're eating the marmita fresh, not freezing it. Eggs are wonderful, but frozen reheated egg is not my fight today.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the beans overnight, at least 8 hours, before cooking.
• •Cooked beans can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen in portions for up to 3 months.
• •Assembled marmitas keep 4 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.
• •Slice the collards and chop onions and garlic the day before if you want Sunday to move faster. Store them covered in the refrigerator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 570g)