Guido’s Portuguese Bean Soup
From elgourmand 12 years ago
- 8 to make
- Serves 6
Guido the Portagee (phonetic spelling here), who was actually born & raised in Hawaii but still wears his Bowling Shirt for dress up events, stopped by with a bottle of nameless plonk for a bit of a natter the other day and said he was depressed because he couldn’t find the stuff to make Portuguese Bean Soup with. Read more Firstly, I have no idea where he gets his “No Name Plonk” but I think he makes it from Welch’s frozen grape juice; it isn’t exactly awful but it isn’t great either. Secondly, this is so like Portagee, if he wants something like this and is too lazy to go out and hunt down the stuff to make it with and then cook it; he hits up Fipe or me. I have my own recipe for this soup but I ask him to write his down so we could try it his way. Surprise, surprise, he just happened to have a copy of the recipe in his pocket. A few days ago I ran across some Hoffy brand Portuguese Sausage at one of the two shops that bring in lots of stuff from the US. I usually hit these places about every two weeks to see what wonderful treats the latest container from the US has brought us. With Hoffy brand Portuguese Sausage and a fresh bag of dried pinto beans in hand the rest is easy. Yes, reasonably fresh dried beans are hard to find here and if you get real old ones they are bad news. Last Wednesday was Samoan Independence Day & a holiday so I advised some of the gang that Guido’s Portuguese Bean Soup was on the menu for Wednesday. I then called Portagee and told him if he showed up with his “No Name Plonk”; no soup! Come Wednesday, One Eyed Moke & Fipe lobed in just before noon; with most of a box of Aussie Red, then Portagee & his lady turn up and Portagee has not one but two bottles of Australian, Half Mile Creek, Cabernet Merlot; properly chilled. Yes, we chill our red wine here cause we don’t like it at 92o F (33o C) and this is decent grape stompings so it deserves some fridge time. Fat Leroy and his current lady were off in the bush; visiting family, or whatever, so the rest of us filled our glasses, yarned a bit, put on some not too syrupy Hawaiian music and hit the soup. We all agreed that Portagee’s recipe is good stuff, Hawaiian music is not so great and that Hoffy is the only Portuguese Sausage worth buying; wisdom at the end of a soup spoon. See less
Ingredients
- • 1lb (500g) dried Pinto or red beans. Yes, you can use canned but the soup doesn’t come out the same. If you must use canned its juice and all; and don’t blame me for the results. shopping list
- • 1 stick, (12oz – 340g) Portuguese sausage, cubed small. Get Hoffy if you can. I have seen other brands that were less than wonderful. Portuguese sausage is a fresh sausage (not cooked) & should be fatty and aromatic; without any heat at all. shopping list
- • 1 Ltr beef stock. You can use cubes or powdered. shopping list
- • 1 small head of cabbage, shredded; about 4 - 5 cups ± to taste. shopping list
- • 1 medium onion, chopped course. shopping list
- • ½ tsp dried basil. shopping list
- • 1 medium Bay Leaf. shopping list
- • 1 Jalapeño pepper seeded and chopped fine, Optional. You don’t want this soup too hot; it ain’t Mexican. shopping list
- • 1 – 2 Tbs rough as guts red plonk, optional. shopping list
- • 1 - 2 cloves fresh garlic, minced, ± to taste. shopping list
- • water as needed. shopping list
- • salt & fresh ground pepper to taste shopping list
How to make it
- The Beans:
- 1. Place the dried beans and enough water to cover them in a large pot and bring to a boil, I use a Crockpot See Photo. Simmer for a few minutes and then let stand for 30 minutes. See Photo
- 2. Drain the juice, discard. This step is optional but will greatly reduce the odorous gas explosion factor.
- 3. Cover the beans with the beef broth and fresh water.
- 4. Bring the beans back to the boil; turn off and let stand for three to four hours, overnight is good.
- The Soup:
- 1. Add everything but the cabbage to the beans and bring the lot to a simmer. See Photo
- 2. Simmer for 30 minutes ± as needed and add the cabbage. Do check the beans for doneness before you add the cabbage; not every dried bean cooks the same and they should be just about done before you add the cabbage.
- 3. Simmer for an additional 30 minutes and serve. See Photo
- In Hawaii you often get a bowl of steamed rice with this, but you often get a bowl of steamed rice with just about everything in Hawaii. Portagee likes French style bread with his but my favourite is steamed corn tortillas. For some reason, probably how we got it in Hawaii, this dish doesn’t seem to invite side dishes, like salad, etc. We always think of it as a main course but you could use it as a very hearty soup course. Fipe mentioned that she usually adds 4 or 5 quartered small plum tomatoes in when she puts in the cabbage and I like her soup; but I also like this one, I sometimes dice up a half dozen corn tortillas and toss them in just at the end but this is off the grid, as is the fact that I often sprinkle a bit of grated cheese on top at serving, so the options are optional. Hay folks this is Jazz, not Bach. You do get to have it your way. No hay mejor en el mundo de comida! (There is no better in the world of food!); sorta.
- Sorry the pics are kinda blah but the best ad agency in the world couldn’t make Portuguese Bean soup look exciting; that’s my excuse anyway.
People Who Like This Dish 10
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The Rating
Reviewed by 2 people-
Good soup. Had to change it just a little. Good flavor. Made a pic. See Soup Again Ii (bottom of page) for further comments.
pointsevenout
in Athens loved it
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It's 100 degrees around here, these days, so this will have to wait a few months, but looking forward to it come soup season! YUM! :)
keni
in Sweet Home loved it
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Well, I found some Portuguese sausage, but it wasn't Hoffy's and I don't know if it was "right", but... it was delicious. :) I also used red and white beans and beef stock, no water. Oh, and I used a decent red wine, and, even though it was...more
keni
in Sweet Home loved it
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