Portuguese Kale Soup

Perfect for a cold winter night.

This is my version of a Portuguese kale soup, or Caldo Verde.  I make no claims that this is an authentic Portuguese recipe, because I had to go with what was available at my local grocer.

However, this soup is dead easy to make, filling, soul warming on a cold winter night and tastes even better the next day. Oh, it freezes well too.

This recipe makes a large pot of soup that can serve up to 8 people, easily. If you are single, please don't let that stop you from trying this dish. Like I said, it freezes well, so you could just freeze your left overs. But don't be surprised if you don't have as many leftover servings as you first thought you would have. I made this for dinner last night and my husband had 4 servings!

My Portuguese Kale Soup
serves 6-8



3 or 4 TBS olive oil
8 cups  chicken broth
1 pkg (2 links)   kielbasa or smoked sausage, cut into bite size pieces*
1 med. onion, diced
1 TBS minced garlic
2 cans (13 ozs or so) great northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
6 med. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (at least 1" square approx.)
1 1/2 to 2 cups fresh Kale leaves, de-stemmed and cut into slender ribbons
Salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper to taste

Optional: 2 tsp chicken bouillon if you want to bump up the chicken flavor


--Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed soup pot over medium high heat. Add onion and stir briefly. Add kielbasa or smoked sausage. When meat starts to brown, add garlic and stir. Allow to cook for just a minute before adding the remaining ingredients. Reduce heat to low and allow to cook until potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

Serve hot with some crusty bread.



 

 *Dried Spanish chorizo is the traditional sausage used for this soup, but is unavailable in my area.