Caldo Verde (Portuguese Potato and Kale Soup)

Literally "green soup," this simple and tasty potato and kale soup is served everywhere in Portugal from the meanest taverns to the fanciest restaurants, and it's a delicious and warming comforter on a cold winter evening served with crusty or Portuguese bread. Much like a potato and leek soup but with the benefits of all the vitamins and minerals that are packed in kale, it's also a great soup to nourish a loved one who's feeling under the weather.

The kick in green soup, when it's desired, usually comes from what most of us would probably consider an unbelievable amount of garlic. In my version, I temper the garlic and substitute instead a little of the fieriness of dried red chillies. And although caldo verde is almost always cooked with Portuguese sausages, we vegetarians don't need to know that, do we?

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Potato and Kale Soup)

Recipe by Lisa Turner Cuisine: Portuguese Published on January 4, 2008 Literally "green soup", caldo verde is a simple, charming and nourishing Portuguese potato and kale soup Print this recipe Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 6 cloves garlic, minced 2 whole dried red chillies 4 large potatoes, diced or sliced 6 cups cold water 1 large bunch kale, chopped finely 1 tablespoon sea salt fresh ground black pepper Instructions: Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Toss in the onion, garlic and dried red chillies and stir for 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and stir for another 3 minutes. Pour in the water and turn up the heat to bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat again to medium and let the soup boil gently for 20 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and take out the red chillies temporarily. If a creamier soup is desired, use a hand blender to roughly purée the vegetables, leaving just a few of the potato chunks unblended for taste and texture. Alternately, use a potato masher to mash some of the potatoes into a coarse blend. Put the soup back on the stove and add the chillies back into the pot. Stir in the kale and resume boiling gently for about 10 minutes or until the kale is soft and wilted. Just before serving, stir in the salt and season with ground black pepper. Makes 4 - 6 servings

This is my entry for the next "Weekend Cookbook Challenge". The theme for January is appropriately "veggin' out" as most of us have had our fill of treats and sweets after Christmas.