Vegetarian dishes are few and far between in the Portuguese repertoire, which is difficult to understand when they are able to conjure up such a delicious recipe as this.  The navy beans, with their nutty-sweet flavor, compliment the chestnuts to create a robust and satisfying bowl of soup.

In northern Portugal, chestnuts are eaten all year-round.  They are harvested in Autumn and dried (or frozen nowadays) for use later.  You can buy frozen chestnuts (buy) or the pre-cooked, canned variety (buy) if fresh ones are not available.  How to peel chestnuts.

Try to buy dried beans from bulk bins at your supermarket, or if you must buy prepackaged beans,  buy them from stores with a high turnover.  Older beans will soak and cook unevenly.  Always sort your dried beans for rocks and dirt.

Variations:  use black-eyed peas instead of navy beans; instead of puréeing the bean mixture, add 1/2 cup of rice when adding the onions to the beans and cook, covered, over low heat until done.

Makes: 4 serving

Ingredients:

4 ounce (about 1/2 cup) dried navy beans

4 ounce chestnuts, peeled

1 small yellow onion, chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

to taste salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Sort the beans and soak them overnight in 3 cups of lightly salted water.

2. Drain the beans and place them and the chestnuts in a saucepan with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook covered for about an hour until the beans are tender.

3. In a separate pan, heat the olive oil then add the onions and paprika and cook over medium-low heat until the onions are soft (10 minutes or so), being careful not to brown them.  Add the onions to the beans and purée half the mixture.  Return purée to the pot and heat through.  Serve in individual bowls and sprinkle with cracked pepper and chopped parsley.

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