Chef Margarida
Açorda de Bacalhau
Two Portuguese icons meet in one humble bowl: the bread soup of Alentejo embracing flakes of salt cod. Peasant genius that proves scarcity breeds invention, that pão and bacalhau together can feed the soul.
Culinary Explorer
A cooking platform built around craft, culture, and the stories behind what we eat.
Sopa de Abóbora com Chouriço
Created by
Autumn's sweetness meets smoky pork in this silky pumpkin soup, crowned with crispy chouriço rounds that shatter at first bite. The kind of cooking that makes you cancel your plans and stay at the table.
Soups & Stews
Portuguese
Comfort Food
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
45 min cook•1 hr 5 min total
Yield6 servings
There's a moment in late autumn when the first cold arrives and suddenly all you want is soup. Not thin soup. Not polite soup. Real soup, the kind that fogs your glasses when you lean over the bowl.
Avó Leonor made this when the abóboras came in from the garden, their orange flesh so sweet it barely needed anything else. She'd roast the pumpkin until it collapsed, then blend it smooth as velvet. The chouriço went in the pan until it curled and crisped at the edges, releasing that smoky fat that makes everything better. "O segredo está no chouriço," she'd say. The secret is in the chouriço.
This is peasant cooking at its finest. A few humble ingredients transformed through patience and heat into something that warms you from the inside out. The sweetness of the pumpkin, the smoke of the pork, the richness of good azeite. It's the kind of soup that makes conversation stop. People just eat.
At Mesa da Avó, we serve this on the first cold night of the season. It marks the turn from summer salads to winter warmth. The bowls come back empty, scraped clean with bread. That's how you know a soup is right.
Pumpkin cultivation in Portugal dates to the 16th century, arriving from the Americas along with tomatoes and peppers. The combination with chouriço emerged in rural kitchens where nothing was wasted: the garden provided the vegetables, the matança (pig slaughter) provided the sausage. This soup appears across Portugal's interior regions, from Trás-os-Montes to Alentejo, each village claiming subtle variations.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
pumpkin or butternut squash
Quantity
1.2 kg
peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
onion
Quantity
1 large
chopped
garlic cloves
Quantity
3
smashed
extra virgin olive oil (azeite)
Quantity
1/4 cup, plus more for drizzling
potato
Quantity
1 medium
peeled and cubed
chicken or vegetable broth
Quantity
1 liter
bay leaf
Quantity
1
ground nutmeg
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon
chouriço
Quantity
200g
sliced into thin rounds
sea salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
fresh thyme leaves (optional)
Quantity
for garnish
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| pumpkin or butternut squashpeeled, seeded, and cut into chunks | 1.2 kg |
| onionchopped | 1 large |
| garlic clovessmashed | 3 |
| extra virgin olive oil (azeite) | 1/4 cup, plus more for drizzling |
| potatopeeled and cubed | 1 medium |
| chicken or vegetable broth | 1 liter |
| bay leaf | 1 |
| ground nutmeg | 1/2 teaspoon |
| chouriçosliced into thin rounds | 200g |
| sea salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| fresh thyme leaves (optional) | for garnish |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy-bottomed 4-liter pot
- •Immersion blender or standard blender
- •Cast iron or heavy skillet for the chouriço
Instructions
- 1
Build the refogado
In a heavy pot, warm the azeite over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic in the last two minutes. The onion should be translucent and sweet, with no harsh edges. This is the foundation. Não tenhas pressa.
If your onion is browning too fast, lower the heat. You want gentle cooking, not caramelization. The sweetness should come from patience, not burning. - 2
Add the vegetables
Add the pumpkin chunks and potato to the pot. Stir to coat everything in the fragrant oil and onion. Pour in the broth, add the bay leaf and nutmeg, and bring to a gentle simmer. The liquid should just cover the vegetables. If not, add a splash more broth or water.
- 3
Simmer until tender
Let the soup simmer uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pumpkin is completely soft and starting to fall apart. A knife should slide through with no resistance. The potato helps thicken the soup and makes it silky. Taste the broth. It should already smell like autumn.
The potato is the secret to body without cream. Avó Leonor never added cream to anything. The starch does the work. - 4
Crisp the chouriço
While the soup simmers, heat a dry skillet over medium heat. Add the chouriço rounds in a single layer. Cook until the edges crisp and curl, about 2 minutes per side. The fat will render out, turning the pan slick and fragrant. Transfer to a plate lined with paper. Reserve a tablespoon of the rendered fat.
No oil needed. The chouriço has plenty of fat. Let it do the work. That rendered fat is liquid gold; drizzle it over the finished soup if you want. - 5
Blend until silky
Remove the bay leaf. Using an immersion blender (or working in batches with a regular blender), puree the soup until completely smooth. It should be velvety, the color of sunset. Season with salt and pepper. If it's too thick, add a splash of broth. If too thin, simmer a few minutes more.
- 6
Serve with warmth
Ladle the hot soup into deep bowls. Top each portion with crispy chouriço rounds. Drizzle with your best azeite and scatter a few thyme leaves if you have them. Serve immediately with crusty bread for dipping. This is the kind of soup that makes people go quiet. Let them.
Chef Tips
- •Use proper Portuguese chouriço, not Spanish chorizo. The chouriço is smoked and has a deeper, more complex flavor. Look for it in Portuguese markets or online. If you truly cannot find it, a good quality smoked sausage will work, but it won't be the same.
- •The pumpkin variety matters less than its ripeness. Look for abóbora menina, butternut squash, or even kabocha. Avoid watery varieties like jack-o-lantern pumpkins. You want dense, sweet flesh.
- •This soup thickens as it sits. When reheating, add a splash of broth to bring it back to the right consistency. The flavor actually improves on the second day.
- •Some families add a splash of cream at the end. Avó Leonor would raise an eyebrow at this, but I won't judge. If you do, make it just a tablespoon or two. The soup should taste like pumpkin, not dairy.
Advance Preparation
- •The soup base can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated. Reheat gently, adding broth to adjust consistency.
- •Crisp the chouriço fresh just before serving. It loses its crunch if made ahead.
- •The pumpkin can be peeled and cut up to a day ahead, stored covered in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 400g)
Calories
320 calories
Total Fat
21 g
Saturated Fat
6 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
13 g
Cholesterol
27 mg
Sodium
1125 mg
Total Carbohydrates
22 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
7 g
Protein
12 g
Where cooking meets culture.
Culinary guides, cultural storytelling, and the editorial depth that makes cooking meaningful.
Discover Culinary ExplorerMore from Chef Margarida's Soups and Stews
Browse the full collection
Chef Margarida
Caldeirada à Fragateira
The fishwives of Porto built this stew in layers, never stirring, letting the fish steam gently over potatoes and peppers. Whatever the market offered that morning became dinner by evening.
Chef Margarida
Caldo Verde
The soup that unites Portugal, from Minho in the north to Lisbon's June festivals. Just potatoes and couve sliced thin as breath, a ring of chouriço floating like a promise, proof that poverty breeds genius in the kitchen.
Chef Margarida
Canja de Galinha
The soup that heals everything, from broken hearts to winter colds. Golden broth, falling-apart chicken, rice that drinks the goodness, and fresh mint because this is how Portuguese grandmothers have always done it.