Churrasqueira do Sobreiro
Mafra, Portugal
Photos: José Oliveira · Google
🇵🇹 Portugal · Minho, Beiras, Alentejo and the islands each have a cozido
Sopa de cozidoPortuguese boiled meat broth
The broth of a cozido à portuguesa served as the soup before the boiled meats, sausages and vegetables, usually thickened with rice, pasta or bread, or with leftover cozido broth the next day.
Origin and history
Portuguese sources trace the cozido to the 17th century, when a first written recipe appears in Domingos Rodrigues's Arte de Cozinha, and add that its exact origin is unknown; one says it is said to have been inherited from Spain. Portugal has several regional cozidos, Minho, Beiras, Alentejo and the Azores among them. It is a Sunday dish, and the broth is served first as a soup, then the meats.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings of soup, followed by the meats as the main dish
- Total time
- 3 h
- Hands-on
- 45 min
Ingredients
- 500 g1.1 lb beef for boiling, shin (jarrete) or brisket, in one or two pieces
- 500 g1.1 lb boneless pork shoulder or leg, in one piece
- 400 g14 oz pork ribs (entrecosto)
- 1 small1 small (about 3 lb) chicken, whole or halved
- 1 pig's ear, optional, cleaned
- 1 chouriço de carne, pricked with a fork
- 1 farinheira
- 1 morcela (blood sausage)
- 1 kg2.2 lb couve penca (Portuguese cabbage) or savoy cabbage, cut in large pieces
- 3 large potatoes, peeled, halved
- 3 large carrots, peeled, cut in chunks
- 2 turnips, peeled, cut in chunks
- 2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 1 bay leaf
- 80 g3 oz (about 3/4 cup) small soup pasta (massinha, e.g. cotovelos or stars) or rice, for the soup
- salt, to taste, added with care
Method
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1. The night before, soak the chouriço, farinheira, morcela and any smoked or salted pork in cold water, changing the water once, so the broth is not too salty.
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2. Put the beef and pork shoulder in a large pot with cold salted water to cover, the bay leaf and the garlic. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam and simmer gently for about 1 hour. A pressure cooker needs about 25 minutes.
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3. Add the ribs, the pig's ear and the chicken and simmer for another 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is tender. Remove each meat to a warm platter as soon as it is done.
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4. Add the sausages, pricked with a fork, and cook for 15 minutes, then lift them out. Do not let the farinheira and morcela boil hard or they will burst.
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5. Add the cabbage, potatoes, turnips and carrots to the broth and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until all are tender. Lift them out with a slotted spoon onto the platter and keep everything warm.
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6. Strain about 1.5 L (6 cups) of the broth into a clean pot, skim the fat, taste and adjust the salt, and bring to a boil.
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7. Add the pasta or rice to the strained broth and cook for 8 to 10 minutes for pasta, or about 15 minutes for rice, until tender.
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8. Serve the broth first, in warm bowls, with a little pepper. Then slice the meats and sausages, arrange them on a large platter with the vegetables and serve as the main course.
Notes
- Total time: 3 h (plus overnight soaking of the smoked meats).
- In Portugal a cozido is a Sunday family meal, and the sopa de cozido is its first course: a little of the pot liquor is cooked with small pasta or rice and served before the meats come to the table. The meats and vegetables on the platter are not the soup; this page is the broth course.
- The rest of the broth is traditionally used to cook the cabbage and vegetables and, in the sources, a portion is used to cook the rice served alongside the meats. Leftover cozido broth makes the next day's soup, with pasta or fresh vegetables added.
- Regional cozidos differ. The Alentejo version uses pork cuts, fatback, farinheira and chickpeas and is served with white rice; the Minho version is rich in pork ears and feet, ribs, presunto and salpicão, with cabbage, carrot, turnip and potato; the Azorean cozido das Furnas is cooked for hours in volcanic ground and is a different method. Some families add cooked white beans or chickpeas to the platter.
- Make it ahead: the broth can be made a day early, chilled and the fat lifted off, which also gives a clearer soup.
Adapted from Teleculinária: Cozido à portuguesa, receita fácil e económica, e-konomista: Cozido à portuguesa, receitas, and Rica Vida: Cozido à portuguesa, receita tradicional.
At the festivals
Served at 3 festivals in Portugal.
Earlier editions
- March 16, 2025
-
November 01, 2024
🇵🇹 Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal
Festival de Sopas de Montemor-o-Novo
By Petiscaria 3 Marias – Lavre, Montemor-o-Novo
- April 30, 2023
Where to eat it
Restaurants that brought it to a soup festival.