Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Due to the extreme cold of the past week, my mind turned to a hot bowl of soup. A few years ago I made a soup book for my yearly Christmas present, so this recipe is from that book. It's a classic Portuguese soup called "Stone Soup". I'm not sure where that name came from, but there is no actual gravel in the ingredient list. This is a large recipe and serves 8 hungry people.
Ingredients
8 cups chicken stock
1 pound diced Spanish Chorizo (buy at The Spanish Table)
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 medium baking potatoes peeled and diced
1 14 ounce can ready cut diced tomatoes
1/2 medium Savoy cabbage, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
2 leeks, chopped and well rinsed
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
Procedure
Like in most soups, the procedure is pretty basic. Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 2 hours adding more water as needed. At this altitude your liquid evaporates quickly, so keep an eye on your soup. No remote control cookery! The soup will thicken as it cooks. Stir occasionally. Taste and season with salt and pepper before serving. This is a meal in a bowl... a little wine and you are good to go!
