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Sopa da pedra
Sopa da pedra: Almeirim 'stone soup' of red beans, pork, chouriço and potatoes
Almeirim, a market town in the Ribatejo, is the capital of this soup; its restaurants serve it every day, and each bowl arrives with a clean stone at the bottom, after the folk tale of a friar who 'made soup from a stone' by talking villagers into giving him everything else. This is a pork soup: red kidney beans simmer with chouriço, morcela blood sausage and a piece of pork belly, then potatoes, carrots and coriander finish it into a thick, hearty bowl. Chef's tip: cook the sausages whole and slice them at the end, so they stay juicy and don't turn the broth greasy.
- Total time
- 140 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the soup
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Drain 10 ½ oz dried red kidney beans and put in a large pot with 8 ¼ cups water, 10 ½ oz pork belly, 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic and 2 bay leaves. Boil hard for 10 minutes (this makes kidney beans safe to eat), then lower the heat, cover and simmer for 1 hour.
70 minStep 2: Add 5 ½ oz pork chouriço sausage and 4 oz morcela (blood sausage) whole and simmer for 20 minutes more. The beans should be soft and creamy inside.
20 minStep 3: Lift out the pork belly and sausages. Add 14 oz potatoes, 2 carrots and 2 tbsp olive oil to the pot and simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender and starting to thicken the soup.
20 minStep 4: Cut the pork belly and sausages into bite-sized pieces and return them to the pot. Season with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper, tasting first, as the sausages are salty. Simmer for 5 minutes until everything is piping hot; the pork belly should be meltingly soft and well past 160°F (160 °F).
6 minStep 5: Stir in 1 handful fresh coriander and serve in deep bowls with bread (a washed stone in each bowl is optional, but warn your guests). A common mistake is skipping the hard boil of the beans; undercooked kidney beans can make people ill. Cool leftovers within 2 hours and refrigerate.
2 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 30 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 12 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa da pedra take?
- About 140 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 120 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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