1 lb | 450g brisket of beef
2 nervos (Achilles tendon)
½ lb | 220g salt beef (optional)
2 quarts | 1.2 water
bay leaves
3 good sized carrots, sliced
2 large onions, cut in eighths
1 large cabbage, cut into large pieces
2 lb | 900g tomatoes, seeded, or ½ tin tomato paste
½ chouriço* cut in small pieces
1 dsp chouriço* oil
¼ lb | 110g macaroni
2 oz | 56g rice (optional)

Boil the 2 nervos separately in 1 pint | 600ml water till quite tender. Boil then simmer the brisket of beef, salt and bay leaves till the meat is absolutely tender. Drain and put in a big pan and add the soup of the nervos. Put in the seeded tomatoes in and fry in 1 dsp of olive oil.

When this is fried to a moist consistency, put it in the strained soup which should be boiling, and add the carrots and cabbage to the soup.

A quarter of an hour before serving put in the chouriço and also the chouriço oil. The vegetables, etc, should be quite tender before serving.

*     Called paio in the original recipe, but note that what Macanese called paio is what in Portugal is called chouriço.