Portuguese Green Soup (Caldo Verde)

I've had this recipe for a long time and do not remember where I got it from. I thought it very good when I made it.

Coming from the northern Minho region, Caldo Verde ("green soup") is a rustic, traditional Portuguese soup that combines kale with potatoes and sausage. It uses thinly sliced Portuguese chouriço or linguíça sausage, which adds a distinct smoky, garlicky, and slightly spicy flavor and is traditionally made with a type of flat leafed green cabbage similar to collard greens called couve gallego. It often served with a side of Portuguese cornbread (broa*).

*Broa is traditional Portuguese corn bread that’s a hearty, substantial bread made with yeast. Unlike the corn bread common in the states, this is still sufficiently sturdy, not crumbly, and perfect for sopping up soup or sauce.

Note: Swiss chard, collards or turnip greens could be used in place of kale.

3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 cups boiling potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 quarts water (some recipes call for chicken broth or you could use a chicken bouillion cube)
8 ounces Portuguese garlic sausage, sliced (chaurico, can substitute linguiça or Polish Kielbasa)
Salt and black pepper
1 pound kale, washed, trimmed of the thick stems
1 Tbsp. olive oil, for finishing

In a medium soup pot, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil, add onions and garlic and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until they turn glassy, don't let them get brown. Add potatoes and water (or broth). Cover and boil gently over medium heat for 20 minutes.

[I would cook the sausage in the soup pot first with a little olive oil, take them out, then saute the onions and garlic in the drippings and olive oil left in the pot. This way all the sausage drippings and flavor get added to the soup.]

Meanwhile, in a skillet cook sausage until most of the fat is rendered out. Drain sausage and reserve. Roll the cleaned kale into bundles and slice very thin.

When the potatoes are tender, mash them a bit to thicken the stock, if you like. Add the sausage to the soup, and then add the kale. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining olive oil and season. Ladle into bowls and serve.

6 - 8 servings