Sopa da Pedra it’s a traditional Portuguese soup made with kidney beans, potatoes, and a mix of assorted meats and cured sausages. The dish was invented in the city of Almeirim and it’s tied to a European folk tale. It’s simply delicious, and a great way to have a taste of the traditional Portuguese charcuterie. Continue to read to learn how to make this Portuguese Stone Soup!
Sopa da Pedra – A Portuguese Dish with Rural Traditions
The consumption of a hearty soup made with beans, potatoes, and cured sausages goes back several centuries in the Almeirim region. With the construction of the Royal Palace of Almeirim in the 15th century, the site became the royal family’s winter home and hunting retreat. Since the common folk weren’t allowed to hunt in the area, subsistence farming became more and more popular. Several families were fed by their own crops and livestock, and dishes such as Sopa da Pedra, would feature all the different produce and meats produced by the farmers. This hearty bean soup also provided sustenance for those working the land.
From a Rural Dish to a Certified Specialty
So how did this rural soup become a dish that carries the TSG (Traditional Specialty Guaranteed) label? In the 1960s, a couple owned a small grocery store in Almeirim, where they occasionally served food too. It’s said one day a salesman stopped by and was served a rich bean soup. The salesman enjoyed his soup so much that he came back another day for more. Not knowing the name of the soup, he described it as a ‘dark soup that resembles Almeirim’s cobblestones’.
The soup was then baptized as Sopa da Pedra de Almeirim or Almeirim’s Stone Soup. The small shop was turned into a restaurant in 1962 that became the first of many to serve the specialty. These days there’s an association of restaurants dedicated to the dish and even a festival that takes place every year. In 2022 the dish was granted a TSG status by the EU, which recognized it as a traditional dish that follows a specific recipe and method of preparation.
The Stone Soup Folktale
The dish was popularized in part because of its association with a European folk tale. This tale known as The Stone Soup Tale is told slightly differently depending on the country, but generally the plot is the same.
A group of hungry travelers arrive at a village bringing with them an empty cooking pot. Unable to get any food from the locals, they go to a nearby water stream, fill the pot with water, place it over a fire and add a stone inside. A curious villager, intrigued with the scene, questions the travelers. They go on raving about this stone soup they’re making and how delicious it will taste. They say they would love to share the soup with him, but claim it’s still missing some garnishing.
The villager, now interested in having some of the soup, donates some carrots. The traveler is approached by several more villagers interested in this promising soup. He tricks all of them into donating other vegetables and even meat. With the contribution of the villagers, the soup turns out beautiful and very nourishing. The stone is then removed, and both travelers and villagers get to have a bowl of it. This tale is meant to teach the value of sharing and cooperating.
In Portugal the group of travelers is represented by a monk, and the ingredients are potatoes, beans, and local sausages such as chouriço and morcela. This catchy story helped popularizing Sopa da Pedra, in some restaurants the soup it’s even served with a clean stone inside.
An Authentic Portuguese Stone Soup
Sopa da Pedra it’s one of the few Portuguese dishes with an established recipe and method of preparation. The traditional recipe, which carries the TSG label, calls for: cranberry beans, chouriço, Portuguese blood sausage (morcela), Farinheira (flour sausage), pig’s trotter, bacon, potatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, paprika, bay leaves, and fresh cilantro. The preparation method is similar to that used in Caldo Verde. You combine all the soup ingredients (raw) in a pan, cover with water and let it stew!
I believe that’s the secret of Portuguese soups. The ingredients aren’t fried, instead they are stewed, this way all the flavours are accentuated. The sausages will cook quicker than the beans, so they are taken out first, cut into big chunks and stirred back into the soup just before serving, so they don’t lose their shape.
You can still adapt this recipe to the ingredients you have available or are comfortable cooking with. In my case, I’m not well acquainted with pig’s trotters, so I’m using pork ribs instead. Another change I did was to use red kidney beans instead of cranberry beans. You can add different veggies, use different types of beans, the world is your soup! Afterall, the essence of this dish is creating something delicious and nurturing with the ingredients you have at hand.
How to Make Portuguese Stone Soup
Portuguese Stone Soup: How to Make Sopa da Pedra
8
servings10
minutes1
hour350
kcalSopa da Pedra it’s a traditional Portuguese soup made with kidney beans, potatoes, and a mix of assorted meats and cured sausages.
Ingredients
1 kg 1 Dried Kidney Beans
1 1 Whole Morcela Sausage
1 1 Whole Chouriço
1 1 Rack of Pork Ribs – 250g
1 1 Piece of bacon – 80g
500 g 500 Potatoes – Chopped
1 1 Large Onion – Diced
2 2 Garlic Cloves – Roughly Chopped
2 2 Bay Leaves
1 tbsp 1 Red Pepper Paste
1/2 tsp 1/2 Chilli Powder
Salt
Black Pepper
Fresh Cilantro – stem and leaves separated
Directions
- Start by draining and rinsing the beans, add it to a large soup pot together with the whole sausages, the bacon piece, the pork ribs, the diced onions, the chopped garlic, the bay leaf, and the chopped stems of cilantro.
- Cover with boiling water, then place it over low to medium heat. Let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, peel and chop the potatoes. Set aside.
- Take the sausages, the bacon, and the pork ribs out. Cut the sausages into thick slices, remove the bone from the pork ribs, cut the bacon into thick strips.
- Add in the potatoes, the red pepper paste, and more water if needed. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender, approximately another 30 minutes.
- Scoop some of the potatoes out, mash them. Stir it back into the soup.
- Season with the chili powder, and salt and black pepper to taste. Turn the heat off.
- Let it rest for about 10 minutes before serving with some cilantro leaves chopped.
Notes
- Make sure to soak the dried beans overnight. This will reduce cooking time and make them easier to digest.
- Morcela is a Portuguese blood sausage that’s similar to a black pudding.
- Massa de Pimentão is a traditional Portuguese pepper paste made with boiled red peppers, olive oil, and salt.
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know in the comments!