Sopas do Espírito Santo
The Nightly Bowl: Sopas para a Alma
A torn day-old paposeco anchors the bowl. Historically simmering in massive cauldrons for the Holy Ghost festivals, the cinnamon-laced broth originally stretched modest cuts of beef to soak the bread and feed an entire parish. We are trading a six-hour communal simmer for an electric pressure cooker, yielding that same staggering depth of flavor on a Tuesday night without losing an ounce of soul—give a supermarket chuck roast forty-five minutes under pressure, ladle it heavy, and do not skip the fresh mint leaves.
Before you start
Create a boneca by placing the onion, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, chili paste, and mint sprigs in the center of a cheesecloth square.
Gather the corners and tie it tightly with kitchen twine to form a pouch that will aggressively flavor the broth without making it gritty.
Ingredients
- yellow onion1 small
- garlic4 small
- cinnamon stick1 med
- whole allspice berries10 med
- Sambal Oelek or Calabrian chili paste1 tbsp
- fresh mint3 sprigs
- bone-in beef chuck roast3 lb
- linguiça1/2 lb
- tomato paste2 tbsp
- dry red wine1/2 cup
- beef broth6 cup
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- green cabbage1/2 med
- day-old rustic sourdough bread1 large
- salted butter3 tbsp
- fresh mint leaves1 cup
Method
- 01
Combine the beef, linguiça, tomato paste, wine, salt, broth, and the boneca in an electric pressure cooker.
Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 60 minutes to forcefully extract every ounce of collagen from the bones.
- 02
Butter the stale bread slices and layer them in a large serving tureen with generous handfuls of fresh mint leaves.
Do not hold back on the mint, as it is the signature aromatic that cuts straight through the heavy, rich beef fat.
- 03
Release the pressure, discard the boneca, and transfer the beef to a cutting board.
The meat should be practically falling off the bone at this point; skim any excessive heavy fat from the top of the broth.
- 04
Switch the cooker to the sauté function, bring the liquid to a rolling boil, and drop in the cabbage chunks.
Let it cook for 5 to 7 minutes until just tender but absolutely not mushy.
- 05
Ladle the boiling broth heavily over the layered bread and mint, immediately covering the tureen to smother it.
This is the abafar step, where trapped steam forces the stale bread to absorb the liquid like a sponge without disintegrating. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
- 06
Shred the beef, discarding the bones and fat, and serve it alongside the cabbage over the swollen, fragrant bread.
Ladle one last splash of broth over the top of the bowls and dig in with a knife and fork.
Notes
Use genuinely stale, rustic bread for the base.
Standard American sandwich bread contains too much sugar and will disintegrate into an unappetizing paste when hit with the boiling broth.
Calabrian chili paste or Sambal Oelek stands in perfectly for hard-to-find Azorean massa de malagueta.
It delivers the requisite fruitiness and heat without the overpowering vinegar tang found in standard hot sauces.