Sopa da pedra (stone soup)Portuguese stone soup

• 400 g14 oz (2 cups) dried feijão catarino (Portuguese speckled beans) or borlotti / cranberry beans, soaked overnight in cold water, drained
• 1 (about 600 g)1 (about 1.3 lb) chispe (pig's trotter), split; rubbed with coarse salt the day before, then rinsed
• 400 g14 oz faceira (pork cheek) or pig's ear, scraped and well washed
• 80 g3 oz toucinho (cured pork back fat or salt pork), in one piece
• 1 small (about 150 g)1 small (about 5 oz) chouriço (Portuguese smoked pork sausage), pricked with a fork
• 1 small (about 150 g)1 small (about 5 oz) morcela (Portuguese blood sausage), pricked with a fork
• 1 farinheira (smoked sausage of flour and pork fat), pricked with a fork
• 1 (about 150 g)1 (about 5 oz) onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp colorau (sweet paprika) or 1 tbsp massa de pimentão (red pepper paste)
• 1 tbsp olive oil or lard
• 3 L3 qt (12 1/2 cups) cold water
• 1 kg2.2 lb potatoes, peeled, cut in small irregular cubes
• 1 bunch fresh coriander (coentros), chopped
• salt and black pepper, to taste; the meats are salty, so taste first

Method

1. 1

   1. The day before, rub the trotter with coarse salt and leave it in the refrigerator; put the beans to soak in plenty of cold water.

2. 2

   2. Rinse the salt off the trotter and drain the beans.

3. 3

   3. Put the beans, trotter, pork cheek or ear, toucinho, onion, garlic, bay leaf, colorau and olive oil in a large pot with the cold water; there is no refogado (no frying of the onion first).

4. 4

   4. Bring slowly to the boil, skim the foam, then lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 1 hour.

5. 5

   5. Add the chouriço and morcela and simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour more, until the beans are creamy inside and the trotter meat comes away from the bone.

6. 6

   6. Poach the farinheira separately in a small pan of simmering water for 15 minutes, so it does not burst into the soup.

7. 7

   7. Lift out all the meats and sausages and let them cool a little.

8. 8

   8. Add the potato cubes to the bean broth and simmer for about 20 minutes, until they are tender and starting to crumble at the edges.

9. 9

   9. Meanwhile, take the meat off the trotter, cut the cheek or ear and the toucinho into small pieces and slice the sausages into rounds.

10. 10

    10. Return the meats and sausages to the pot, stir in most of the coriander and check the salt and pepper.

11. 11

    11. Turn off the heat and let the soup rest, covered, for 15 minutes; the beans release a creamy film and the soft potato thickens the broth.

12. 12

    12. Serve very hot in deep bowls with the rest of the coriander on top and plenty of bread.