Stone soup - Sopa de pedro

Sopa de pedro soup or "Stone soup" is perhaps one of the most common national dishes. The soup has an interesting history of its origin. One day a wanderer went to stay with an old lady for the night, he was very hungry. "I have nothing," the old woman replied, "only a pot, firewood and water." The wanderer suggested putting a saucepan of water on the fire and throwing a pebble into it. When the water boiled, he said: "Look, you have a pork leg, chicken, some beef, vegetables and salt." So the soup was cooked. And now, when the Portuguese cook a delicious sopa de pedra, they are sure to throw a beautiful stone into the pot and give it to the guest of honor.

Beans need to be soaked overnight in cold water. The next day, fill the beans with 2.5 liters of water, cut the pork ear large and throw it to the beans. Cook the beans over medium heat. When the water boils, remove the foam. We throw a bay leaf. Cook until the beans are soft, 1.5-2 hours. Chop the onion, potatoes, carrots, cabbage and bacon finely. Sausage can be cut into small strips. 30 minutes before cooking, throw sausage and vegetables into a saucepan with beans. From the finished soup, you need to take out the pieces of the ear, chop them finely and return to the pan. Warm up the soup again, salt and pepper it to taste, until then the soup has no salt! Soup is better to eat hot. If you like cilantro, then it is tied with a thread, cooked together with vegetables, and then pulled out. If mint, then it is put at the end, just before serving, parsley at the end of cooking. The soup turns out to be very tasty if you add a little black pudding to it. You can also put a pebble in a plate, as in Portugal, but be careful!