Meat (pork) stew with vegetables can be traced to
ancient Roman cuisine. The dish spread with the
Roman Empire and gave rise to dishes such as the French
cassoulet, the Milanese
cassoeula, the Romanian
fasole cu cârnați, the
fabada asturiana from Northwestern Spain, the Spanish
cocido madrileño and
olla podrida, and the feijoada of
Minho Province in Northern Portugal. The creation and name of
feijoada are related to Portuguese ways of making it, from the regions of
Estremadura,
Beiras,
Trás-os-Montes and
Alto Douro, which mix various types of beans - except black beans (of American origin) - sausages, ears and pigs' feet. The Portuguese version of
feijoada originates mainly in the north of the country, where it is cooked with white beans in the northwest (
Minho and Douro) or red beans in the northeast (
Trás-os-Montes), and usually also includes other vegetables (tomatoes, carrots or kale) along with pork or beef, to which chorizo,
blood sausage or
farinheira can be added. == Regional variations ==