Holy Ghost Soup

Per Maria: “When I serve this recipe, I use 3 soup tureens, which makes a wonderful presentation that everyone loves!”
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 pound beefshanks or beef short ribs
  • 2 pounds boneless chuck roast
  • 2 large onions chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 head cabbage chopped
  • 5 whole black peppercorns
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 sprigs mint washed
  • 1 loaf Portuguese bread at least 2 days old, sliced
  • Cheesecloth or spice ball

Notes

Place all the meat in a large bowl and rinse well.
Place the meat in a clean bowl and sprinkle salt over each piece. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight, for best results.
Fill a large stockpot a little more than halfway with water. Add the onions, garlic, and the meat (making sure to rinse off some of the salt).
Wrap the peppercorns in a tied pouch of cheesecloth or in a spice ball and add to the pot.
Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the heat to simmer for 2 to 3 hours or until the meat is tender.
Once the meat is cooked and tender, remove it from the pot and place it on a large serving platter. Note: Let the meat cool down enough to be able to handle without burning your hands while shredding.
Taste-test the broth and adjust with more water and salt as desired.
Skim fat from the meat broth and discard the bag of peppercorns.
Add the chopped cabbage and let it cook for another 30 minutes or until tender.
While the cabbage is cooking, start shredding the meat. Make sure to remove all the bones and excess fat and then leave aside.
Set up the soup tureens. In each tureen add the sliced bread, making sure that each is almost filled to the top. Add a sprig of mint on top of the bread. Add a layer of the shredded meat on top of the mint. If you have extra shredded meat, place it on a smaller platter for those that want to add more meat to their soup.
Ladle in the broth with the cooked cabbage over everything. Cover the soup tureens and leave aside for about 10 minutes.
Remove the sprigs of mint from each tureen.
Serve with a nice glass of red wine such as (vinho de cheiro). Then a toast to all the souls, “para las almas.”