Sopa de Pedra Recipe

Name: Sopa de Pedra
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 10 h 20 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Portuguese
Ingredients: 300 g dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight; 400 g pork ribs; 300 g smoked ham bone; 150 g chouriço; 150 g morcela; 2 ½ litres water; 2 carrots, diced; 150 g turnip, diced; 500 g potatoes, diced; 300 g savoy cabbage, shredded; 2 tbsp chopped mint; 1 tsp salt

Sopa de Pedra

The Alentejo stone soup of red beans, pork, sausages and vegetables, simmered for 2 hours after an overnight soak.

2 hr 20 min prep and cooking plus 8 hr Soaking 10 hr 20 min start to finish Serves 6 servings Medium

Why Sopa de Pedra Works

Short and sharp: the stone is a joke. The story goes that a hungry friar tricked a family into feeding him by saying he could make soup from a stone, and then asked for just a few extras. Sopa de pedra is the Portuguese result, a thick soup of red beans, pork, smoked sausages and vegetables, with a clean stone sometimes placed in the pot as a nod to the tale.

Soak the red beans overnight. Drain them and put them in a large pot with pork ribs, a smoked ham bone, chouriço and morcela and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and skim. Add the vegetables in two stages: carrots, turnip and potato after 1 hour, and cabbage near the end. The beans should be soft but whole.

Simmer for 2 hours in all, until the pork is tender and the broth is thick and red. Lift out the sausages and meat, slice or shred them and return them to the pot with a handful of mint, which is traditional in Alentejo. Taste for salt. Serve in deep bowls with bread. The soup tastes better the second day.

Build the Meal Around Sopa de Pedra

Crusty bread
Red wine
Olives

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Migas Portuguesas, Pao de Deus, Pao de Lo.

How to Cook Sopa de Pedra

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Drain the beans and put them in a large pot with the ribs, ham bone, chouriço, morcela and water. Bring to a simmer and skim.
Cook for 1 hour. Add the carrots, turnip and potatoes and cook for 40 minutes.
Add the cabbage for the last 20 minutes.
Lift out the meats, slice or shred them and return to the pot with the mint and salt.

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Soak the beans overnight.

Add the vegetables in two stages.

Finish with mint, as in the Alentejo.

Storing and Reheating

Keeps for 4 days in the fridge. Freeze for 3 months.

Questions and Answers

How long does Sopa de Pedra take to make?

20 minutes of preparation and 2 hours of cooking, plus 8 hours of Soaking, so allow 10 hours 20 minutes from start to finish. The recipe serves 6.

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: weights that include bone are counted as if all of it were eaten, so the figures run high; part of the energy comes from foods, or weights per item, with no recorded source. How the figures are worked out.

543Calories

31gProtein

35gCarbs

31gFat

7gFibre

6gSugar

1390mgSodium

Dairy-Free Gluten-Free No Added Sugar

Sopa de Pedra

Build the Meal Around Sopa de Pedra

How to Cook Sopa de Pedra

Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Storing and Reheating

Questions and Answers

The Numbers per Serving

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

Build the Meal Around Sopa de Pedra

How to Cook Sopa de Pedra

Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Storing and Reheating

Questions and Answers

The Numbers per Serving

Your notes on this recipe

Cooked this? Keep a note for next time

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