Portuguese Kale Soup – Recipe
Being a first generation American, my Portuguese roots have always had an incredibly close place in my heart. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States (my mom age 11, my dad age 24) from Sao Miguel, Azores. A very popular Portuguese dish that we all grew up with is Kale soup!
There truly was nothing as delicious as my grandmother’s Kale soup. Before she passed away she taught my grandfather how to make it. He is the only person who could make it like she could. Now that they are both gone, I still find myself wishing I could perfectly replicate it. It will never be exactly the same, but I have managed to craft my own recipe for Kale soup that has been positively received by family and friends. I hope that you like it too!
P.S. Kale soup is extra delicious when paired with a piece of pao de milho (Portuguese corn bread) or a papo seco (Portuguese bread roll)!
Portuguese Kale Soup
My take on a popular dish from my culture...Kale Soup!
Ingredients
- 2 links Portuguese Chourico mild
- 2 cans Red Kidney Beans 1 to be pureed
- 3 cups Chopped Kale
- 2-3 Russet Potatoes cubed
- 1 Onion finely chopped / or onion powder
- Garlic Powder to taste
- Paprika to taste
- Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
- 1lb Stew meat (optional add on)
- 1 - 1 1/2 cup Elbow Noodles (optional add on)
Instructions
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Begin by filling a large pot about 3/4 full with water. Add your onions and seasonings to the water and allow it to come to a simmer while you prep your other ingredients. Be modest with your salt initially because the chourico that you will be adding in will add a lot of flavor. You can add more salt later on if need be.
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Peel 2-3 medium-sized russet potatoes and chop them into small pieces and add them to the water. You'll want to add the potatoes first because they take the longest to cook.
**Also - a tip for people, like me, who sometimes lack common sense: It is so much easier to add the potatoes slowly, by putting the chopped pieces in a strainer and easing them into the water rather than plopping them in and splashing hot water on yourself. I learned the hard way when I dropped a bowl of chopped potatoes into my pot one time -- LOL.
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Remove your chourico links from the plastic wrapping and carefully remove the casing from the chouricos. Chop one of chouricos into bite sized pieces and add it to the soup. For the other link, cut half of it into bite-sized pieces and add it to the soup. For the other half of the chourico, chop it up a bit and put it in a blender or food processor, then add to the soup.
**Alternatively, if thie seems like a lot of work for you, you could simple buy ground chourico to add to your soup. Its not quite the same, but it works in a pinch.
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Add one can of (strained) red kidney beans to the soup. For the second can, strain it, then put it in the food processor or blender, and blend it up. Then add it to the soup.
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Lastly, add your kale and let the soup simmer on low heat for at least 45 minutes to an hour. You can always let it simmer longer than this, it tastes better the longer it simmers! I'm personally not patient enough to let it simmer longer than an hour 🙂
Optional Add Ons
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If you would like more meat in your soup, you can add in cooked stew meat. Simply cook the meat in a pressure cooker or on the stove top and add it to the soup. My husband's grandmother taught me this. It adds a little more heartiness to your soup. Definitely good, however not necessary. I always had it without stew meat growing up but some people insist on it.
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If you want, you can also add some noodles to your soup. My grandmother did this occasionally. She always used elbow noodles, so that's my noodle of choice as well. This is another thing that I don't find necessary but is nice to add sometimes.