Sopa de Feijão Verde – Portuguese Green Bean Soup

 

I’ve recently been asked to add more Portuguese soup recipes to this site. Today I made one of my family’s favorite’s to share with you.

This recipe for Sopa de Feijão – Portuguese Green Bean Soup, is a beautifully flavored and hearty soup that you can enjoy all year round!

When I make this soup in the summer, I normally use a heirloom variety of green beans from my vegetable garden known as Romanos – also known as Italian green beans.

The flat beans are superior in quality because they have a nutty, meaty taste and smooth tender flavor.

I love this variety of beans and use them in all of my recipes requiring green beans. They’re very easy to grow and require little maintenance other than lots of watering and a some miracle grow!

If you’re not familiar with this type of heirloom green bean ask some of your Portuguese friends who are gardeners and they can help you find some.

In the winter I buy the packages of frozen Italian green beans which you can find in the frozen vegetable section of your supermarket.

In my recipe, I use pasta instead of potatoes which many cooks usually use, but I’m not a big fan of potatoes!

If you prefer to use potatoes, just substitute 2 cups of potatoes instead of pasta but you’ll have to cook and puree the potato along with the vegetables.

This recipe is very easy to prepare since it’s made with the staple ingredients you already have in your kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 large chopped onion

3 large chopped carrots

1 stalk celery

1 large clove garlic

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large bay leaf

1 can white northern beans

1  9 oz box (Romano – Italian) green beans

8 cups water

2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable if you prefer)

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp any tomato sauce or 1 small ripe tomato

2 cups small Penne or (substitute potato if you prefer)

 

Instructions:

In a large soup pan, saute the trinity (onions, carrots and celery) in olive oil until translucent. Add the chicken broth, garlic, water, tomato, and seasonings. Bring to boil and cook on medium until vegetables are tender.

Remove pan from heat. Remove the bay leaf and add 1/2 of the can of white beans. Puree the soup with an immersion blender to desired consistency. I like the soup a little chunky but its up to your taste.

Place the soup back on the stove on medium heat. When it comes back up to a boil, add the pasta, green beans, and remaining white beans.

Cover and let it simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the pasta is cooked. Add more seasoning if desired.

Enjoy with some delicious home made bread.

Here’s the recipe:  Portuguese Pão de Milho !