[Sca-cooks] Caldo Verde - Green Soup

[Liz Courts]

Green Soup
Caldo Verde

Makes 6-8 servings
1 lg yellow onion, peeled & minced fine
1 lg garlic clove, peeled & minced
4 tbsp olive oil
6 lg Maine or Eastern potatoes, peeled & sliced thin
2 qts. cold water
6 (or more) ounces of chourico, chorizo, pepperoni, or other dry 
garlicky sausage, sliced thin
2 1/2 tsp salt (about)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 pound Galician cabbage - barring that, collards, kale, or turnip 
greens, washed, trimmed of coarse stems and veins, then sliced filament 
thin (stack 6-8 leaves, roll 'em up like a cigar, then slice with a very 
sharp knife)

Saute onion and garlic in 3 tbsp of the oil in a lg heavy saucepan 2-3 
minutes over moderate heat until they begin to coor and turn glassy; do 
not brown! Add potatoes & saute, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes or 
until they begin to color also. Add water, cover and boil gently over 
moderate heat 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are mushy. Meanwhile, fry 
the sausage in a medium size heavy skillet over low heat 10-12 minutes 
until most of the fat has cooked out; drain well and reserve. When the 
potatoes are soft, remove pan from the stove and with a potato masher, 
mash the potatoes right in the pan in the soup mizture. Add sausaage, 
salt, and pepper, return to moderate heat, cover, and simmer 5 minutes. 
Add the greens and simmer uncovered 5 minutes until tender and the color 
of jade. Mix in remaining tbsp of olive oil, taste test for salt & 
pepper (add more if needed). Serve with chunks of a hearty, crusty bread.

If my victims - er, taste-testers - have never tried a Portuguese dish, 
this is one of the things I serve them. At first, the pot full of 
vibrant greens put them off (apparently it reminds them of cooked 
spinach for some reason), but when they tasted it, they fell immediately 
in love with it. I have omitted the sausage for a vegetarian friend, and 
the soup is still wonderful.

Just be sure to make sure all of the stems & veins are removed - woody 
chunks of greens are not so good!

Ignia il Nomade
Suifu of the OniRyu

>Recipe please? I discovered, a few years ago, that I really like kale....
>--maire, who adds it to beef-and-veggie soup...mmmmm...
>
>Liz Courts wrote:
>
>> Try some Caldo Verde - "Green Soup" - it's a vibrant shade of green when 
>>> you're done cooking it, and really darn good.
>>    
>>