This is a classic Portuguese Soup featuring kale, potatoes, and chorizo. Adding white beans and omitting the sausage is a great version of this classic as well.
1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes, preferably no longer than two inches 1 tablespoon bacon fat, lard, butter, or oil 1 pound chorizo 2 to 3 dried chili peppers 2 -3 leeks, sliced thin 3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced (try using your fresh green garlic instead!) 3 medium carrots, chopped 2 quarts chicken stock 2 bunches kale, stems removed and chopped coarsely (or 1 bunch kale and 1 bunch mixed greens) 1 to 2 teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika sea salt to taste extra virgin olive oil to serve
Set a kettle filled with clean water to boil, and boil potatoes until tender when pierced with the tines of a fork. Drain the potatoes and set them aside. Heateat bacon fat or pastured lard over a medium flame until melted. Add the chorizo to the pan and fry until thoroughly heated through and well-cooked. Add the chili peppers, shallots, garlic and carrots to the cooked chorizo and fry with the sausage until they become fragrant and tender. Bring 2 quarts to a simmer. Stir as needed and allow the soup to cook for twenty to thirty minutes or so, add the cooked potatoes and continue to cook for another ten minutes. About five to ten minutes before you plan to serve the soup, turn off the heat and stir chopped kale, smoked paprika and unrefined sea salt into the soup. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and allow the caldo verde to rest for about five minutes or long enough to wilt the kale. Serve with a generous portion of unrefined extra virgin olive oil stirred into the soup at the last minute.
adapted recipe from nourishedkitchen.com/caldo-verde/ Serves 6.