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FijiFlavors · Açores
Stew of meats, sausages and vegetables cooked for hours in a pot buried next to the Furnas hot springs, using only the volcanic heat of the ground. A tradition from the island of São Miguel in the Azores.
Traditional dish from Açores
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
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Cozido das Furnas — Açores, Portugal
The Furnas stew brings together, in a large pot, beef, pork and chicken, chorizo, blood sausage, bacon, potato, sweet potato, yam, cabbage, carrot and turnip, arranged in layers. The pot is tightly covered and buried in a hole next to the Furnas calderas, where the heat rising from the volcanic ground slowly cooks everything, without fire and without adding water.
The Furnas are on the island of São Miguel, in a large caldera formed by several eruptions of the Furnas volcano. In the village and around the lagoon there are fields of fumaroles, hot springs and ground that emits steam. The Azores government presents the stew, cooked by the heat of the volcanic ground, among the geocultural traditions through which inhabitants learned to make use of volcanic phenomena, alongside thermal baths.
The ritual starts early. The pots are buried in the morning, in the holes in the caldera area next to the lagoon, and are left to cook for several hours, generally five to seven, depending on taste. Afterwards they are unearthed and brought to the table. Village restaurants serve the stew prepared this way, and it is possible to see the pots coming out of the ground.
The result has a distinctive flavor, with very tender meats and vegetables cooked in the steam of the ingredients themselves. Yam and sweet potato, common on the islands, distinguish this stew from those on the mainland.
It is served on platters, with meats, sausages and vegetables on the side, as a hearty midday meal. The bolo lêvedo also originated in the Furnas, a slightly sweet bread that appears across the island.
Beef, pork and chicken, chorizo, blood sausage, bacon, potato, sweet potato, yam, cabbage, carrot, turnip and salt.
At lunchtime, on platters, with meats, sausages and vegetables served separately.
All year round, especially at midday, because of the hours of cooking that begin in the morning.
Your questions
The ingredients go into a covered pot that is buried next to the Furnas calderas. The heat of the volcanic ground slowly cooks everything for several hours, without fire.
On the island of São Miguel, in the Azores, in a large volcanic caldera with fumaroles, hot springs and a lagoon.
Beef, pork and chicken, sausages, bacon, potato, sweet potato, yam, cabbage, carrot and turnip.
Flavors of Portugal
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