Provincetown Portuguese Cookbook

Soups

Sopas

Calde Verde | Tillie's Kale Soup | Edith's Kale Soup | Holly's Kale Soup | Jane's Kale Soup | Dot and Bill's Kale Soup | Lenny's Portuguese Soup | Portuguese Soup-The Moors Restaurant | Corn Chowder | Mussel Chowder Or How Paris Changed Chowder | Fish Chowder | Real New England Clam Chowder | Macaroni Soup | Squid Stew | Squid and White Bean Soup | Portuguese Kale Soup

Portuguese Soup - The Moors Restaurant

Milan Costa

The Moors Restaurant is one of Provincetown's finest and oldest restaurants. Since 1939, The Moors has been owned and operated by the Costa family. Founded by Milan's father Maline Costa, it is the only restaurant in Provincetown still actively promoting the service of traditional Portuguese food and wine. Their soup, a variation on the kale soup theme, uses cabbage instead of kale and only chouriço, no sweet linguiça. It has been a staple on the restaurant's menu for years.

1/4 cup olive oil

3 cups canned tomatoes, crushed in their juice

2 onions, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

3 potatoes, diced

1/4 to 1/2 medium cabbage, chopped

2 quarts brown stock

1/2 lb. chouriço (remove the casing and chop)

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

2 cups canned red kidney beans

Sauté the tomatoes and onion in just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of a soup pot. Add the garlic, carrots, potatoes and chopped cabbage. Cover with brown stock (beef bouillon may be used if more convenient) and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the chouriço and cayenne pepper. Taste for salt and pepper. Cover and simmer 1 to 3 hours, adding the red kidney beans 15 minutes before removing from the heat. More stock or bouillon may be added if the liquid gets low during the simmer. This soup gets better each day if it is rewarmed.

Serves 8.