Portuguese Bean Soup

For 6 or more (it keeps at least a few days in the fridge)

(Revised from Marian Tracy, The Peasant Cookbook, and The Art of Making Good Soups)

If you see these books in a secondhand bookstore, buy them. They contain many recipes you will use. The recipes for this soup in the two books differ slightly, and the point of that is that it is hard to ruin this dish so long as you stick to the basics of it. Tracy says that this soup "comes from Portugal by way of the fishermen on Cape Cod". She assures the reader that the quantities of bay leaves and allspice are correct. She also warns that the resulting soup is very more-ish. She is right, so this recipe is for about double the quantity of hers.

For years we had this soup, home baked bread and salad for dinner just about once a month. Once the beans are soaked and ready it is a snap to prepare.

2 c dried kidney beans, soaked for at least 3 hours (or 4 15 oz. cans of kidney beans, drained)
8 c chicken stock or water
3-4 medium onions, sliced or diced
4 T bacon fat or olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced (1/2" cubes)
4 or 5 (Turkish) bay leaves
2 t ground allspice
1 can tomato paste
salt, pepper

1. Saute the onions and garlic gently in the fat or oil until the onions are just beginning to brown. (While this is going on, you can peel and dice the potatoes, setting them aside).

2. Add the potatoes to the onion mixture and stir a couple of times. Add the bay leaves. Stir again. Add the tomato paste and allspice. Stir again. Add the soaked beans and the stock or water and stir gently.

3. Raise the heat to boil the soup, then lower it so that the whole thing simmers gently.

4. Simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour. It is done when the potatoes and beans are soft. It should be thick.

Note: if you are using canned beans you can add them much later if you want, say after 30 minutes.