Holy Spirit soup, also known as Império soup, is served at the festivities of the Holy Spirit (Espírito Santo), which in the Azores reach their high point on Pentecost Sunday. The recipe changes from island to island and even from parish to parish.
In this version, associated with Terceira, slices of stale bread are soaked in the broth used to cook beef and chicken, flavoured with mint, onion, garlic, cinnamon and chilli, and eaten with the cabbage; the meats follow. Many recipes also add boiled beef liver and blood, plus a little alcatra sauce.
Method
Tie the onions, garlic, mint, cinnamon and chilli paste in a cloth bag.
Put the water, salt and spice bag in a large pot and bring to the boil.
Add the beef and the hen and simmer gently, skimming off the foam. If using chickens, add them only when the beef is almost done.
When the meats are cooked, add the cabbage and the lard and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, boil the liver and the blood in water in separate pans, then slice them.
Cut the bread into thick slices and arrange them in a tureen or deep bowls, topped with a few mint leaves.
Drizzle the bread with the alcatra sauce, spread the cabbage and a few slices of liver and blood on top and pour over a little hot broth. After a few minutes, add more broth until the bread is well soaked.
Cover with a linen cloth, wrap in a blanket and leave to rest for 2 to 3 hours, keeping the meats and the rest of the broth hot in the meantime.
Serve the soup first, with more boiling broth if needed, followed by the meats, the chicken in pieces and the rest of the liver and blood.
Tips
- Use wheat bread that is a day or two old: fresh bread falls apart in the broth.
- The liver, blood and alcatra sauce can be left out; the soup keeps its scent of mint and cinnamon.
- Some versions add potatoes to the broth once the meats are half cooked.
- No cloth bag? Tie the aromatics in a piece of muslin.
- To remove excess fat, let the broth cool, lift off the fat that sets on the surface and reheat.
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