In Portugal, soup is not just a starter: it is a true institution. Found on every table, from lunch to dinner, it embodies both conviviality and the rustic simplicity of popular cuisine. Each region of the country has its emblematic recipe, handed down through centuries of tradition.
And to enjoy them as in Portugal, nothing beats clay, ceramic or stoneware soup tureens. They retain heat, allow the soup to be shared at the centre of the table and bring that artisanal charm that turns a meal into an authentic moment.
Caldo Verde, the soul of northern Portugal
Caldo Verde is perhaps the most famous and beloved soup in Portugal. Originating from Minho, in the north, it is both simple and comforting.
Once considered a peasant soup, it is now served in the finest restaurants as well as at popular festivities, particularly during the St John’s celebrations in Porto.
Recipe for Caldo Verde (6 people)
Ingredients:
- 1 kg potatoes
- 200 g Portuguese chouriço
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 200 g Portuguese cabbage (couve galega), finely sliced
- Olive oil, salt, pepper
Preparation:
- Cook the potatoes, onion and garlic in salted water.
- Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Add the finely sliced cabbage and cook for a few minutes so it stays slightly crunchy.
- Serve in a ceramic or stoneware tureen, garnish with slices of chouriço and a drizzle of olive oil.
Service
Served piping hot in a handcrafted tureen, Caldo Verde becomes a true sharing dish, symbol of northern Portuguese cuisine.
Sopa da Pedra, the legendary soup
If Caldo Verde is the icon, Sopa da Pedra (literally “stone soup”) is certainly the most legendary of Portuguese soups. Originally from Almeirim, in the Ribatejo, it is inseparable from the tale of a mendicant monk.
The anecdote: the monk’s soup
The legend tells of a hungry monk who once asked the villagers for something to prepare a soup. Since each refused to share, he announced that he would make a soup… with a stone! Intrigued, the villagers watched him boil water with his stone.
Little by little, he suggested the soup would taste better with beans, then vegetables, then some pork, chouriço… Each villager brought a contribution, and the soup became rich and delicious. Thus was born Sopa da Pedra, symbol of solidarity and generosity.
Recipe for Sopa da Pedra (6 people)
Ingredients:
- 500 g dried red beans
- 300 g salted pork belly
- 300 g pork shank
- 1 pig’s ear (optional but traditional)
- 1 Portuguese chouriço
- 1 morcela (Portuguese black pudding)
- 1 farinheira (Portuguese flour sausage)
- 2 onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 carrots
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt, pepper, fresh coriander
Preparation:
- Soak the beans overnight, then cook until tender.
- In a large pot, place the pork meats (belly, shank, ear) with carrots, onion and bay leaf. Cover with water and simmer for 1h30.
- Add the whole sausages (chouriço, morcela, farinheira) and cook for another 30 minutes.
- Incorporate the cooked beans and let simmer gently so the flavours blend.
- Serve in a hot clay tureen, sprinkled with fresh coriander.
According to tradition, some place a clean little stone at the bottom of the tureen to recall the legend.
Other unmissable Portuguese soups
- Sopa de Peixe: a fragrant fish soup, typical of coastal regions.
- Açorda Alentejana: a rustic soup made with bread, garlic, coriander and poached egg, emblematic of Alentejo.
- Canja de Galinha: a comforting chicken and rice broth, served on special occasions or as a soothing soup.
Artisanal tureens: the Portuguese way of serving
In Portugal, soup is not served in just any dish. The tureen is a central element of the table:
- In clay, it retains heat and adds rustic charm.
- In glazed ceramic, it enchants with colours and decorative patterns.
- In stoneware, it combines contemporary elegance with robustness.
From the delicacy of Caldo Verde to the generosity of Sopa da Pedra, through fish soups and Alentejo bread soups, Portuguese soups tell the story of a people devoted to simplicity, sharing and authentic flavour.
Served in beautiful clay, ceramic or stoneware tureens, they take on another dimension: that of Portuguese artisanal tradition, passed down from generation to generation.
In the Luisa Paixão collection, you will find Portuguese handcrafted tureens suited to every style of kitchen, from the most traditional to the most modern.