Sopa da pedra
A soup from Almeirim in the Ribatejo region, with a legend in its name. According to the story, a wandering friar asked at a farmhouse only for a pot of water to make soup from a stone — and then, one by one, for beans, sausage, bacon, potatoes and coriander. The tale gave its name to a thick, filling red bean soup with chouriço, smoked bacon, potatoes and plenty of coriander. Restaurants in Almeirim often serve it with a stone in the tureen. The stone is for fun; the beans and cured meats make the flavour.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Soaking the beans 720 min
- Cooking beans with the meats 90 min
- Potatoes and carrot 25 min
- Resting 10 min
Step by step
0 / 8 doneSoak the beans
Cover the beans with plenty of cold water (at least three times their volume) and leave overnight (8–12 hours).
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans · 150 g chouriço or smoked chorizo · 150 g smoked bacon in one piece · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 2 tbsp olive oil · 2500 ml water · 400 g potatoes · 2 pcs carrots · 1 bunch coriander · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Drain the beans
Drain the beans, discard the soaking water and rinse them. Chop the onion and slice the garlic. Leave the chouriço and bacon whole — you will cut them once the beans are tender. In one piece they stand up better to long cooking.
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans · 150 g chouriço or smoked chorizo · 150 g smoked bacon in one piece · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 2 tbsp olive oil · 2500 ml water · 400 g potatoes · 2 pcs carrots · 1 bunch coriander · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Cook beans with the meats
Put the beans, chouriço, bacon, onion, garlic and bay leaf in a large pot, add the olive oil and pour in 2.5 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil, skim and boil hard for at least 10 minutes — raw or undercooked red kidney beans are toxic, and only vigorous boiling destroys the toxin. Then lower the heat, cover the pot leaving a gap and simmer for 1–1½ hours in total, until the beans are completely soft, with no hard centre.
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans · 150 g chouriço or smoked chorizo · 150 g smoked bacon in one piece · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 2 tbsp olive oil · 2500 ml water · 400 g potatoes · 2 pcs carrots · 1 bunch coriander · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Beans cooked with the meats — the flavour base.Slice the meats, add the vegetables
Lift the chouriço and bacon out onto a board. Peel the potatoes and carrots, cut into 1.5 cm dice and add to the soup. Slice the chouriço 1 cm thick and cut the bacon into 2 cm cubes (trimming off any rind), then return them to the pot. Simmer 20–25 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans · 150 g chouriço or smoked chorizo · 150 g smoked bacon in one piece · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 2 tbsp olive oil · 2500 ml water · 400 g potatoes · 2 pcs carrots · 1 bunch coriander · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
The potatoes thicken the soup.Crush some beans
Crush a few spoonfuls of beans and potato against the side of the pot — the soup thickens. Season with salt and pepper, remembering the meats are salty.
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans · 150 g chouriço or smoked chorizo · 150 g smoked bacon in one piece · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 2 tbsp olive oil · 2500 ml water · 400 g potatoes · 2 pcs carrots · 1 bunch coriander · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Add the coriander
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the chopped coriander. It gives the soup its Portuguese character.
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans · 150 g chouriço or smoked chorizo · 150 g smoked bacon in one piece · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 2 tbsp olive oil · 2500 ml water · 400 g potatoes · 2 pcs carrots · 1 bunch coriander · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Plenty of coriander — as in Almeirim.Rest
Leave the soup covered 10 minutes for the flavours to settle.
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans · 150 g chouriço or smoked chorizo · 150 g smoked bacon in one piece · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 2 tbsp olive oil · 2500 ml water · 400 g potatoes · 2 pcs carrots · 1 bunch coriander · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Serve
Ladle the soup into deep bowls, sharing out the meats evenly. You can serve bread alongside and, if you like, put a smooth, well-scrubbed and scalded stone in the pot or tureen in honour of the legend.
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans · 150 g chouriço or smoked chorizo · 150 g smoked bacon in one piece · 1 pcs onion · 2 cloves garlic · 1 pcs bay leaf · 2 tbsp olive oil · 2500 ml water · 400 g potatoes · 2 pcs carrots · 1 bunch coriander · 1 tsp salt · ½ tsp black pepper
Before you start
From a can
With 3 cans of red kidney beans (about 750 g drained) the soup is ready in just over an hour. Simmer the meats with the onion, garlic and bay leaf in about 2 litres of water for 30 minutes, then add the drained, rinsed beans with the potatoes.
Other meats
In Almeirim the soup often also gets morcela (Portuguese black pudding) and pig's ear. The more kinds of meat, the richer the broth.
Storage
Once cooled, the soup keeps 3 days in the fridge and is even better the next day. Add a little water when reheating, as it thickens a lot, and bring it to the boil.
