Portuguese Kidney Bean Soup

Portuguese Kidney Bean Soup is a family favorite.  The flavor is wonderful and very different than other soups. It is even better the second day.

I have been preparing this soup for many years.  As a newly married young woman, I joined a cookbook book club!  I found this recipe in The Art of Making Real Soups by Marian Tracy, 1967. The cover is tattered and the pages quite yellow. The recipe below is a meat-free version. There is a chapter in the book: Classic and Sustaining with No Meat. Maybe that section is worth a quick review!  If you have kidney beans and potatoes, you can make the soup today! Enjoy!

Portuguese kidney bean soup

Ingredients:

2 16 ounce cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 medium red potatoes, chopped

1 6 ounce can tomato paste

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon allspice

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.       In a soup pot, sauté onions in olive oil until soft.

2.       Add to the pot about four cups of water and the two bay leaves.

3.       Add chopped potatoes.

4.       Boil about 15 minutes until potatoes are soft.

5.       Add kidney beans, allspice, and garlic.

6.       Simmer about 10 minutes.

7.       Add tomato paste and salt/pepper to taste.

8.       Simmer another 10 minutes. Be sure to add water to reach desired thickness.

9.       The soup is wonderful with whole grain bread.  The next day, the flavors of the soup are even better integrated into the ingredients.