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I am third generation American, but my ancestors are from Portugal. To be exact my great grandparents were from Madeira and the Azores. Growing up in a large Portuguese Community of San Diego every year thousands would all get together and celebrate the Festa do Esprito Santo- The Feast of the Holy Spirit. This celebration would honor the religious beliefs, traditions and people of the community with a parade and festival in which everyone would come together. Today it is the oldest ethnic festival in San Diego (2014 will be the 104th year!) and I have been apart of it almost ever year since I was born.

I love getting together with family and friends for this joyous occasion and some of my favorite memories were enjoying the traditional meal served on this day called Sopas. It is a very simple beef stew but the flavors are very unique. When I was growing up I would wait all year for this favorite dish, but now that I am grown I love to make it a couple of times a year. I recently ordered some grass-fed beef from my new rancher and couldn’t wait to make my Traditional Portuguese Sopas Recipe. If you are looking to try a different and ethnic beef stew recipe here is one I think you would enjoy!

Traditional Portuguese Sopas Recipe:

• 4lbs of boneless chuck roast
• 6 cups of water
• 3 cups of beef bone broth (homemade preferred)
• 1 cup of red wine
• 1 can tomato sauce or 2 cups of chopped tomato
• 1 yellow or white onion sliced
• 1 head of cabbage cut into wedges
• 2 large potatoes cubed
• 4 cloves of garlic chopped
• a bunch of fresh mint leaves and stalk
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp pickling spices
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Linguica Sausage (optional)
• French bread sliced (day or two old bread is great!)

Add everything except cabbage, potatoes, bread and mint to a large pot on medium high heat. Use cheesecloth or strainer to contain pickling spice and cloves. Make sure the meat is covered. Once liquid comes to a boil, turn on low and let everything cook for about 4 hours, or until the meat is falling apart. Towards the end of the cooking time add the potatoes and cabbage, some mint and let it cook until both are soft. Place sliced bread in a glass or ceramic cooking dish and place a few mint leaves on top of bread. Ladle some of the beef broth over the bread and serve.

Have you had Traditional Portuguese Sopas? If you have a recipe I would love for you to share your variation!