Let me start off this post with saying: I love my family very much. Not a day goes by when I don’t talk to my mother and father. I speak to my sisters probably weekly; they’re just as busy as I am, so we find the time when we can. With that being said, none of them agree with my decision to be vegan.
I was raised in a very Portuguese household where, every winter, my father would kill a pig and then bring the whole thing to our garage/freezer. My entire family, (aunts, uncles, cousins, etc) would then hang out in the garage, listening to Portuguese fob music and/or a radio station reciting the rosary, and gossip all the while shoving the insides of the pig into a funnel making linguica and chorizo. Ah, yes. Memories.
Anyway, to my family, being vegan is not healthy. Seriously, my mom thinks I’m dying. If she calls me at 11pm, after I’ve had a long day at work and serious homework dedication for 4 hours, and asked me how I was doing, I’d say tired. Her response would be “It’s because you’re not eating right, Jessica”. I would go into what my parents eat to prove that I’m ridiculously healthier then them but I feel like that would make me petty. Instead, I’ll share one of the recipes I did get from my mother that I love. I called my mom the first time I made this to get the recipe and she never give me a set number for how much of each to put in. I’d ask “how much salt” and she would reply with (in her adorable Portuguese accent) “Put some salt, try, if not enough, put more. If too much, put more water” and it was like that for all the ingredients! So, I tried what my mom suggested and I think I got it right.
There really isn’t a name for this soup, so we’ll just call it “Tomato Soup”. I’m not exactly sure the serving amount, but when I make this I have enough to feed myself for the rest of the week. This is the part where I just called my mom hoping I’d be able to get close to exact measurements.
You’ll need:
· 4 Large russet potatoes peeled and sliced
· 3 Large tomatoes cut and deseeded.
· 1/3 Cup cut onions (Pre cut onions are fine!)
· 1 ½ Cup pasta stars
· 6 cups water
· 1 tbsp. Garlic powder or 1 tsp. salt
· 11ml olive oil
So lets begin!
1. Boil the potatoes, tomatoes and onions in the water for about 15-20 minutes on medium to high heat.
2. Bring to a simmer and take a mixer, I use a Cuisine Art Smart Stick Hand Blender, and mash it all together until there is no chunks left.
3. Bring back to medium heat and throw in the pasta stars for the length of time the pasta needs to boil. It’s important that the pasta gets boiled in the soup and not separately. The starch that the pasta releases when boiling it will give the soup more of a creamy consistency rather then a watery consistency.
4. Once the pasta is done cooking, bring it back to a simmer and throw in the garlic powder or salt. Now this is the part where my mother has no idea as far as exact measurements and she just spices to her taste. This is completely subjective and I’d suggest doing the same. Start off with the 1 tbsp. of garlic powder, but if you feel like you need more, by all means. Even add pepper if that’s what your heart desires!
5. The same could be said for the olive oil. Pour in the initial 11ml but go crazy with this if you want or don’t even put it in at all! It does make it look pretty though.
6. Take off heat and serve!
Now, every time I make this, it always ends up being a little bit different, but It’s always good. I promise
Seriously, folks, Portuguese vegan cooking without meaning to be vegan!
I called my mom upwards of 5 times asking if she could just make it right now and give me the measurements while doing it, but she was at work or whatever. I guess my mother and I are a bunch of ‘throw in ingredients until it tastes good’ kinda gals.
Thanks for reading and I hope yours comes out as tasty!
But seriously, try it.
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