Greg’s Killer Kale Soup
Greg’s Killer Kale Soup is rich with flavor from garlic, onion, Brazilian sausage, potatoes and kale. The gluten free soup is based on a recipe for Caldo Verde that originates from Portugal almost 100 years ago. Migrants brought it to Brazil and parts of the United States and Canada over the many years that followed. It was considered a very special dish and was traditionally made for celebrations like weddings, birthdays and holidays.
My co-worker Greg, who loves to travel and eat as much as I do (maybe more!) told me about the origins of this incredible soup and said that he often makes it on rainy weekends. He explained that it is a rustic soup, thickened by mashing the potatoes during the cooking process. Kale is sliced into thin strips, floating like nutrient-dense noodles in the thick broth. Brazilian sausage and bacon add smokiness and turn this soup into a meal.
The more Greg told me about this dish, the more intrigued I became about its simple ingredients and seemingly complex flavor. So I asked Greg if I could name the recipe after him if he approved of my re-creation of the soup. A deal was made and off I went to the Brazilian market down the road to get the proper sausage.
The Meat
The Linguica Calabresa sausage for this soup is a Brazilian smoked pork sausage that is flavored with paprika, onion and garlic. If you can’t find this type, a Spanish or Portuguese style smoked (not fresh or uncooked) variety of chorizo would be the best substitute. Smoked pork belly from the butcher or a packaged thick cut bacon will be a great addition of smoky flavor and crispy texture to the soup. This isn’t part of the original Portuguese recipe, but many include bacon in their Caldo Verde today and Greg definitely approves. Since I am not one to turn down bacon, I clearly added it in.
The sausage will be sliced into coins, the bacon diced into chunks and both will be fried in a skillet to render the fat and brown the exterior. This also seasons the pot for cooking everything else in the soup. Yum!!!
Gold Potatoes
I used Yukon Gold Potatoes because I like their soft and smooth texture when they are boiled and mashed. Given that this is a rustic soup that usually isn’t pureed into a smooth texture, I wanted the potato to have a pleasant texture. Russets and Idaho baking potatoes tend to be too dry and crumbly for a soup in my opinion. Any yellow, gold or white waxy skinned potato should work well for this soup. Just remove the skins, dice them up keeping in mind that the smaller they are the quicker they will cook.
Greg’s Killer Kale Soup
About the kale in the soup. Lacinato kale, collard greens or mustard greens are the most similar to what was used in the original recipe for Caldo Verde. The tough stems were removed with a sharp knife, then the remaining leaves were sliced very thinly. These thin strips almost resembled noodles in the finished soup. Other types of kale are okay to use, but you won’t likely be able to get the effect of the thinly cut strips from a curly leaf kale for example. The greens are essential in the dish because they offer up the acid needed to balance the fat and salt of the potatoes and meat. The greens are also what the original soup was named for. Caldo Verde translates to “green soup.”
The Method
Making the soup is fairly straight-forward. With one exception. If you want to achieve the traditional texture, pay close attention to the directions when it comes to how much of the ingredients you blend and how much to blend them. Ultimately the soup is absolutely delicious whether it is blended perfectly smooth with a high speed blender or left rustic and chunky as it should be. I know this because I have made it both ways and somewhere in between. They all tasted great, but Greg was immediately aware that something was not like the original, lol!
The soup begins with browning the sausage and bacon separately (see the photos above). Then set the crisp sausage and bacon aside and cook the onion and garlic in the drippings. This adds a tons of flavor to the onion and garlic and continues to season the bottom of the pot.
Potatoes and chicken stock are added and brought to a low boil until the potatoes are fork tender.
Here’s the part to pay close attention to. Add half of the kale, beans, sausage and bacon into the soup pot. Use an immersion blender to partially mash and blend the ingredients. You can also transfer this to a countertop blender if you don’t have an immersion blender. Just be very careful blending hot liquids.
Add the remaining ingredients into the pot, reserving a little for garnishing if you’d like. Allow the kale to cook through, which should take about 5 minutes. Then it is ready to ladle into bowls and serve.
More Gluten Free Soup for You!
- Thai Chicken Noodle Soup
- Easy Blender Gazpacho
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Mom’s Best Matzo Ball Soup
- Vegan Creamy Butternut Squash Soup
- Triple B Chili
Greg’s Killer Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound Linguica Calabresa sausage (smoked chorizo will work too)
- ½ pound smoked pork belly, slab bacon or thick cut bacon (cut to 1/2" pieces)
- 1 large yellow onion (diced)
- 3-5 cloves fresh garlic (minced)
- 1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, or similar (skinned and quartered)
- 2 quarts chicken stock or broth
- 2 bunches lacinato kale (stems removed and sliced very thinly)
- 15 ounce can of white beans (drained)
- salt & pepper (to taste)
- olive oil (for drizzle garnish)
- 1 lime (sliced for garnish)
- crusty bread for serving
Instructions
- In a dutch oven or heavy bottom stock pot, fry the sausage and bacon separately over medium high heat until browned and set each aside.
- Discard all but 2-3 tablespoons of the pan drippings in the same pot you cooked the sausage and bacon. Cook the onion in the drippings over medium heat until translucent.
- Add the garlic and continue cooking until fragrant, about a minute. Don’t let the onion or garlic burn.
- Add the potatoes and chicken stock to the pot and turn the heat to medium high. Allow it to come to a low boil. When the potatoes are fork tender, add half of the kale, sausage, bacon and white beans to the pot allowing everything to heat through for a minute or two.
- Using an immersion blender or very carefully transfer to a standard blender, blend the soup until only small bits remain. This is a rustic soup and isn’t supposed to be completely smooth.
- Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper IF you think it needs it. It may not need any salt at all.
- Stir in the remaining kale, sausage, bacon and white beans (reserving a little if you’d like for garnish). Ladle into bowls, garnish if you’d like and drizzle with good olive oil just before serving. A squeeze of lime will brighten up this rich and hearty soup, but is not traditional and is completely optional. Mop it up with some crusty bread if you'd like.
