AI-generated image
Sopa de castanhas
Chestnut and bean soup
Sopa de castanhas: Trás-os-Montes chestnut soup with beans and rice, made meat-free
Before potatoes reached the high plateaus of Trás-os-Montes, chestnuts were the staple, and in villages around Bragança and Vinhais this thick soup is still made in November, when the magusto festivals roast the new crop. Farm versions are cooked with a piece of cured pork; this one is meat-free, built on dried or cooked chestnuts, white beans, onion and a little rice, finished with olive oil. It is sweet, nutty and filling enough for supper. Chef's tip: mash a third of the chestnuts into the broth to thicken it and leave the rest in pieces.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 14 oz cooked peeled chestnutsor 200 g dried chestnuts, soaked overnight and simmered for 40 minutes
- 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 onionschopped
- 2 cloves garlicchopped
- 1 carrotdiced
- 1 bay leaf
- 14 oz cooked white beansdrained
- 6 ¼ cups water or vegetable stock
- 2 ⅛ oz short-grain rice
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp parsley (optional)chopped
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Warm 3 tablespoons of the 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat and cook the 2 onions, 2 cloves garlic, 1 carrot and 1 bay leaf for 10 minutes, until soft and sweet.
10 minStep 2: Add the 14 oz cooked peeled chestnuts, 14 oz cooked white beans, 6 ¼ cups water or vegetable stock and 1 ½ tsp salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes, until the chestnuts are very tender.
22 minStep 3: Scoop out about a third of the chestnuts and beans with a little liquid, mash or blend them smooth and stir back into the pot. The broth should turn creamy and pale brown.
3 minStep 4: Add the 2 ⅛ oz short-grain rice and simmer for 12–15 minutes, stirring now and then so it does not stick, until the rice is soft. A common mistake is adding the rice too early: it bursts and turns the soup gluey.
15 minStep 5: Season with the ¼ tsp black pepper and more salt if needed, then serve with the remaining 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil drizzled over and 2 tbsp parsley if you like.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 290 kcal
- Protein
- 8 g
- Carbs
- 46 g
- Fat
- 9 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa de castanhas take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 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 vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
BabboucheSpiced snail broth
After dark in Marrakech's great square, the babbouche stalls are recognisable by their steaming cauldrons and the toothpicks laid out by every bowl. Small land snails simmer in a dark broth of liquorice root, aniseed, thyme, caraway, bitter orange peel, chilli and a bundle of herbs that sellers say has fifteen ingredients, believed to soothe the stomach and warm you on a cold night. You pick the snails out with a toothpick, then drink the peppery, herbal, faintly sweet broth. At home, buy live snails sold for cooking, already purged by a reputable seller, discard any with broken shells or that do not move or retract when touched, and cook them through for at least 45 minutes. Chef's tip: keep the spices in a muslin bag; the broth stays clear and you avoid crunching on seeds.
Moroccan