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 Feijão Encarnado
Created by
The red bean soup of Beira's mountains, where shepherds and farmers have warmed themselves against the cold for centuries. Thick with potatoes, perfumed with bay, rich with chouriço. Peasant genius in a bowl.
Soups & Stews
Portuguese, Beira
Comfort Food
Budget Friendly
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
1 hr 30 min cook•1 hr 50 min total
Yield6 servings
Ifirst tasted this soup in a village near Guarda, sitting in the kitchen of a woman named Dona Emília who had been making it for seventy years. She was ninety-three. Her hands shook when she poured the azeite, but she knew exactly how much by feel. A cozinha é memória.
This is mountain food. Beira food. The kind of cooking that happens when winters are long and the work is hard and you need something that sticks to your ribs and warms you from the inside out. Feijão encarnado, batatas, chouriço, louro. Red beans, potatoes, chouriço, bay. Nothing fancy. Everything essential.
The secret is patience. The beans need time to soften. The refogado needs time to sweeten. The potatoes need time to break down and thicken the broth. Dona Emília told me her mother made this soup the same way, and her grandmother before that. Four generations at least. Probably more. That's what I'm trying to preserve.
At Mesa da Avó, we serve this on the coldest nights of winter. People arrive shivering and leave warm. The bowls come back empty, scraped clean with bread. That's how you know a soup is right. When there's nothing left but the satisfaction of having eaten something that fed not just your body but your sense of where you come from.
Sopa de feijão encarnado has sustained the people of Beira Interior for centuries, emerging from a region where harsh mountain winters demanded calorie-dense, warming meals. Red kidney beans arrived in Portugal from the Americas in the 16th century and quickly became a staple of peasant cooking, cheaper than meat and just as filling. The addition of chouriço and presunto reflects the Beira tradition of matança, the annual pig slaughter that provided preserved meats to last through winter.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
dried red kidney beans (feijão encarnado)
Quantity
300g
soaked overnight
chouriço
Quantity
200g
sliced into thick rounds
presunto or bacon
Quantity
150g
in one piece
potatoes
Quantity
500g
peeled and cubed
onion
Quantity
1 large
diced
garlic
Quantity
4 cloves
minced
bay leaves
Quantity
3
extra virgin olive oil (azeite)
Quantity
1/4 cup, plus more for serving
water
Quantity
2 liters
sweet paprika (pimentão doce)
Quantity
1 teaspoon
salt
Quantity
to taste
black pepper
Quantity
to taste
freshly ground
fresh parsley
Quantity
for serving
chopped
crusty bread
Quantity
for serving
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| dried red kidney beans (feijão encarnado)soaked overnight | 300g |
| chouriçosliced into thick rounds | 200g |
| presunto or baconin one piece | 150g |
| potatoespeeled and cubed | 500g |
| oniondiced | 1 large |
| garlicminced | 4 cloves |
| bay leaves | 3 |
| extra virgin olive oil (azeite) | 1/4 cup, plus more for serving |
| water | 2 liters |
| sweet paprika (pimentão doce) | 1 teaspoon |
| salt | to taste |
| black pepperfreshly ground | to taste |
| fresh parsleychopped | for serving |
| crusty bread | for serving |
Equipment Needed
- •Large heavy-bottomed pot (6 to 8 liters)
- •Wooden spoon or potato masher
- •Small pan for the refogado
Instructions
- 1
Cook the beans
Drain the soaked beans and place them in a large heavy pot with the 2 liters of fresh water, bay leaves, and the piece of presunto or bacon. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Let the beans cook until they're tender but not falling apart, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The presunto will perfume the broth while the beans soften. This is the foundation. Don't rush it.
Never salt the beans while they're cooking. Salt toughens the skins. Season only at the end. - 2
Build the refogado
While the beans simmer, heat the olive oil in a small pan over medium-low heat. Add the diced onion and cook slowly until soft and golden, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and paprika in the last minute, stirring until fragrant. This refogado is the soul of the soup. Não tenhas pressa. The onion should practically melt.
- 3
Add the potatoes
When the beans are tender, add the refogado to the pot along with the cubed potatoes. Stir to combine. The potatoes will cook in the bean broth, absorbing all that flavor. Continue simmering for another 20 to 25 minutes until the potatoes are completely soft.
- 4
Thicken the soup
Remove the piece of presunto and set aside. Using a wooden spoon or potato masher, crush some of the beans and potatoes against the side of the pot. You want about half mashed, half whole. This gives the soup its characteristic thickness, that velvety body that coats the spoon. The grandmothers in Beira never used blenders. Neither do I.
The soup should be thick enough to hold a spoon upright, or close to it. If it's too thin, let it simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes. - 5
Add the chouriço
Add the sliced chouriço to the pot and let it simmer for 10 more minutes. The fat will render into the soup, turning it slightly orange and adding that smoky depth that makes this dish what it is. Now taste. Season with salt and pepper. Remember, the presunto and chouriço are already salty, so go carefully.
- 6
Serve with bread
Remove the bay leaves. Ladle the soup into deep bowls, making sure each portion gets plenty of beans, potatoes, and chouriço. Drizzle with your best azeite. Scatter fresh parsley over the top. Slice the reserved presunto and add a piece to each bowl if you like. Serve immediately with thick slices of crusty bread for dipping. This is a meal. This is what warmth tastes like.
Chef Tips
- •Soak the beans overnight. There's no shortcut here. Unsoaked beans take twice as long and never cook evenly. If you forget, cover them with boiling water and let them sit for at least 2 hours.
- •Use proper Portuguese chouriço, not Spanish chorizo. The flavor profile is completely different. Chouriço is smoked and seasoned with garlic and pimentão; chorizo is spicier and will change the character of the soup.
- •This soup is better the next day. The flavors deepen overnight. Make a big batch and reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it's gotten too thick.
Advance Preparation
- •The beans must soak overnight, at least 8 hours. Plan accordingly.
- •The soup keeps refrigerated for up to 4 days and freezes well for up to 2 months.
- •The flavor improves after a day of resting. Consider making this the day before you plan to serve it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 500g)
Calories
615 calories
Total Fat
33 g
Saturated Fat
10 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
21 g
Cholesterol
45 mg
Sodium
1175 mg
Total Carbohydrates
49 g
Dietary Fiber
15 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
31 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.