All content copyright Katrina Hall 2008 through 2025

Saturday, May 17, 2008

portuguese kale soup with linguica


Have you ever seen such a beautiful soup? Chunky with linguica, which is a Portuguese pork sausage that is lean and tasty with spices, and loaded with that beautiful ( and healthy!) kale, throw in some potatoes and a few kidney beans and you have a lovely meal.
I grew up on Cape Cod, and my stepfather was Portuguese - put those two together and you'll understand why this soup was a familiar and eagerly anticipated meal.
If you've never heard of linguica, it's a lean pork dry sausage with lots of spices and herbs. Unlike its cousin, chorizo, it is not hot, as in way too spicy for me. I'm lucky enough to find it at my local supermarket, but if you can't find it, just go to Gaspar's Sausage (http://www.gasparssausage.com/) and you can order some online.

To make:

1 coil of linguica ( it's sold that way)
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
2 T. olive oil
about 6-8 cups chopped kale, stems removed
6 red or white potatoes, large dice
1 can kidney beans, drained
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups beef stock
pinch of dried thyme
1/2 large can italian plum tomatoes, with juice, chopped
2 T. medium salsa, Green Mountain Gringo preferred

Place olive oil in large pot and heat. Add onions and garlic and stir until a little browned.
Add chicken and beef stocks to pot.
Cut linguica into 1 inch pieces and add to pot.
Add large diced potatoes to pot.
Add thyme to pot.

Bring pot to a simmer and cook for a half hour. (You can add water to pot if the stock doesn't cover the potatoes and linguica)

Add kale.
Add tomatoes.
Add salsa and kidney beans.

Add more water or stock if necessary.

Cook another half hour. Serve with rustic bread and butter, for dunking !

If you prefer a slightly spicier soup, add hot pepper sauce or pepper flakes.

This soup improves as it ages.

This is my entry into the Tastes to Remember blog event:
http://sarah-cooking.blogspot.com/2008/04/tastes-to-remember-blogging-event.html

16 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm looking forward to trying this version of Kale soup, as your recipes are always great.

katrina said...

Oh Laurun - now you've got me wondering which version YOU use out there on the Cape?

Anonymous said...

Kat, this looks so good! I have a glut of swiss chard in my garden so I might try a little substitution with it but wow, what a soup!

katrina said...

Hey Donna! Wouldn't chard be a little strong tasting? maybe not - let me know! Some people have chicken soup - I have kale soup to make me strong and healthy :)

Anonymous said...

I'm fairly sure this will work because we grew Swiss chard and it's turning out to be sweeter than chard. I've used it in cheesy tarts and custard tarts and it seems to not have the level of bitterness that regular chard does. I'll definitely let you know how it fares in your recipe though; perhaps I'll discover something so you'll have another option! We'll see.

Susan said...

Can't wait to try this one. I make big batches of soups and freeze left overs do you think this will freeze well?
Thanks,
Susan

katrina said...

Hi Susan! I do freeze this with success, and I don't know if it's the linguica or what, but the potatoes seem to come through just fine, with none of that icky spongy tastefeel that has happened with a few potato-rich soups. So I would say to go for it!

Aaron Paul Lazar said...

This looks delicious, Kat! Thanks for sharing. The kale in my garden is calling to me!

katrina said...

Hi Aaron! Yes, tis the time for kale, now that we have some cooler weather! Sorry to say my kale did poorly this summer, with the steam heat we had for 2 months - but I've found plenty of kale at the farmer's markets, thank heavens. Enjoy!

Johnson Family said...

So glad I found this recipe! I have made it twice now and it has been a huge hit with my family both times. My husband is not a soup lover but LOVES this and my 10 year old was caught eating it out of the pot! I freeze the leftovers and it comes out perfectly! Thanks!

katrina said...

Thanks, Johnson Family! I just updated the recipe yesterday, with a few changes - but it's still as wonderful as ever. Delighted it was a hit with your family!

rosiet33 said...

I grew up on the Cape, too (Harwich). I'm making this tonight, as I found Linguisca in my local market (here in the mountains of NC - amazing). I'm replacing the beans with some tortellini, because, well, because. Thanks for the recipe!

rosiet33 said...

I grew up on the Cape, too (Harwich). I'm making this tonight, as I found Linguisca in my local market (here in the mountains of NC - amazing). I'm replacing the beans with some tortellini, because, well, because. Thanks for the recipe!

katrina said...

Rosie - isn't that what cooking is all about? Tortellini sounds like an awesome addition to this! I have a new recipe for Kale Soup ( see blog) that has less potato, more white beans, oodles of kale, - and salsa. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

big fan of linguiƧa. i've seen it paired with kale before. but really like this soup and ease of preparation.

katrina said...

Thanks, Anon! We can thank those wonderful Portuguese cooks on Cape Cod for making such an unfussy and delicious soup!