Soupas! Portuguese Feast Roast

This is a recipe that I remember my dad and my uncles getting so excited about. I love how my Grandma Dutra could always bring the family together with a good meal.  It has a very distinct aroma and taste, and it seems people either love it or hate it. After my father passed, I went without Soupas for several years, until just a couple of years ago when my cousin made it for the family at the annual Yosemite camping trip. The aroma was amazing, the anticipation as it cooked unbearable... and that first bite.... Delightful! I'm not sure which I like better, the taste, or the wonderful family memories that come flooding back when I smell it cooking.

Ingredients:

•4 lb chuck roast
•oil, salt, pepper, water
•4-6 cloves garlic
•2 med white onions
•4 sticks cinnamon
•3 small cans tomato sauce
•1 ounce or more ground cumin (to taste)
•1 1/2 cups red wine (optional)
• fresh spearmint (as much as you can fit in the pot)
•1 loaf Sourdough Bread

In a little oil, fry roast on each side, adding salt and pepper.

Put roast in a crock pot and cook for a couple of hours. Add the chopped onion and garlic. Add water to 1/2 - 3/4 way up the roast. Add tomato sauce, cumin, cinnamon and mint. Simmer several hours until meat falls apart and sauce thickens. The roast should be covered with liquid. Add the wine for the last hour of cooking. Adjust cumin, cinnamon to taste. If juice is too thick, and more water. If using a chuck roast, it will need at least 8 hours of cooking on high.

Strain and pour over thick slices of toasted sourdough bread. I love the flavor of the sourdough and the sauce together... even more than the beef. Enjoy!

 There is a roast under the onions and garlic.  Next time, I'm not going to use quite so much water.

Thick slices of sourdough french bread toasted work best...

and definitely make the flavors come together.