About the Recipe
Soup was a staple dish growing up! So much so that I thought everyone had soup for lunch, every day! If lunch did not include soup…. something was wrong! Soup and Portuguese corn bread, that’s what I grew up eating for lunch!
Before gas stoves were popular, my Mom would cook the beans on a cast iron cauldron over fire… Just like in the picture…. Aww, the memories are so sweet!
I don’t make soup as often as my Mom did (not even close!), but when I do… no one complains and eats it eagerly! Such a comforting food!
There are so many variations of this soup that you cannot go wrong. But here is one of those versions, my version 😊
Ingredients
2 - 4 Tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil
4 - 6 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup of diced celery
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
Crushed red pepper flakes or pepper
About 1 lb of kale
Coarse salt and pepper (to taste)
1 can of diced tomatoes
2 carrots, chopped
1 cup of white wine
2 cups of water
6 cups of chicken broth
1 Portuguese chorizo
1 (15 oz) can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup of small pasta of your choice (cut capellini is my favorite, followed by small elbows)
Large stock pot or dutch oven
Preparation
Heat the oil in a stock pot over medium heat and sauté the onions and garlic, carrots and celery. Add potatoes, and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the wine. Cook for a few minutes. Add the water, bay leaves, and the crushed red pepper flakes. Cover the pot and cook until the potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, wash the kale and remove the thick center stalks. Chop the kale into small pieces. (Although it may seem like a lot of kale, once it is cooking, it shrinks quite a bit)
Add the chicken broth and whole chorizo. Let it return to boil and cook for about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove the chorizo from the pot and put aside.
Add the kidney beans and kale. Cover the pot and simmer until the greens are tender.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Slice the chorizo and return it to the pot.
Serve with crusty bread. Enjoy!
Note: Use this recipe as a guide:
- Depending on the size of the potatoes, I use more or less.
- Sometimes more water and less broth.
- If you don’t have chorizo, any kind of smoke sausage would do, or a stock bone.
- If you prefer a creamier soup, rather than chucky, puree all the vegetables after Step 2 (make sure to remove the bay leaves when pureeing).