All this talk of wind chill factors and threats of snowfall and driving rain sent me into the kitchen the other night to prepare the classic Portuguese soup Caldo Verde.

This hearty one-dish meal made with beef, linquica or chourico, potato and kale was a staple on every restaurant’s menu in the Azores when I traveled to “the old country” with my family a few years ago. Now I regret not ordering it to see how it stacked up to Nana’s “New World” soup. I was so focused on all the fabulous fresh fish, ordering something that I make at home didn’t occur to me. Ah, well…

My grandmother’s recipe is simple. There’s nothing fancy. And today, with the availability of washed and chopped kale sold in bags –- a shout out to the Portuguese for being waaaay ahead of the kale craze -– it’s a perfect one-dish meal. And it’s always better the next day – with bread to sop up the broth, of course.

Now, the recipe that appears below is her standard one. She was known to add canned white beans, then puree some of the soup and add it back into the pot to give the soup some heft.

Nana sometimes used chicken legs instead of beef, subbed in elbow macaroni for potatoes and, yes, her freezer always had a few boxes of frozen kale. She was a woman of the 60s, after all.

But I can tell you she never used a can of Campbell’s Bean with Bacon Soup. I saw that listed in the recipe of one Provincetown woman’s kale soup printed in Yankee magazine in 2010.  I was horrified but her family, according to the article, couldn’t get enough of it.

Bom Apetit!

Portuguese Kale Soup (Caldo Verde)

2 meaty beef short ribs

1 russet potato, peeled

1 carrot, peeled and sliced into three or four pieces

1 onion, whole

1 piece of linguica or chourico, sliced

4 or 5 medium Yukon gold potatoes

2 lb. chopped kale (I used a 2 lb. bag of chopped and washed Glory Kale available at Stop & Shop.)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, place the two short ribs, the potato, carrot and onion. Cover with water at least 2 inches over the ribs and vegetables. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer for at least an hour. Skim the pot frequently.

After an hour, take the meat and vegetables out of the pot and cool until the meat is easy to handle. Meanwhile, mash the potato and carrot and return to the pot. When the meat is cool enough, tear it from the bone, discarding the fat. Chop and return to the pot.

If you need more water in the pot, add 3 or 4 cups of boiling water to bring the level of water up. (If you add cool water, it will bring the temperature of the stock down.) Add the linguica, chopped potatoes, and kale.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Cook for another hour or so until the kale is thoroughly cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 6 hearty eaters.

Tags: #TheFoodsmith, kale, lauraraposa, portuguese, soup