Portuguese Kale Soup

I have a memory of eating linguica like hot dogs at my grandmothers. I also have a memory of eating Portuguese Kale Soup for the first time at her house. It has been years since I have had any, but yesterday, it was all I could think about. I was having Mom over for dinner and had been wanting to make soup and it all worked beautifully. We reminisced a little about Mammam and ate some really good soup!

Portuguese Kale Soup

1 1/2 - 2 Large Links of Chourico (spicy) or Linguica (mild), halved lengthwise and sliced

1 Large Shallot, diced

1 Carrot, diced

1-2 Parsnips, diced

1-2 Red Potatos, diced

1 Large Bunch Kale, rough chopped

1 TBS Fresh Thyme, just pull it off the stem

1 15oz Can of Diced or Petite Diced Tomatoes

1 15oz Can of Kidney Beans, drained

2 Boxes of Chicken or Vegetable Stock

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper

Preheat Oven to 250 degrees - cook time in oven 3-4 hours

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees - cook time in oven 1-2 hours

Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven, adding the chourico, heating through, letting a little fat render out, just a touch of brown on a few pieces. Add in the shallots, cooking till fragrant, about 2 miutes. Add the rest of the chopped vegetables and the thyme, and season with salt and pepper, cooking till frangrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the can of tomatoes with their juice and one box of stock, bring to a soft boil. Add in the kale one or two handfulls at a time until the whole bunch is wilted in. Add the kidney beans and more stock to fill the pot, approximately half the second box. Place the lid on the pot, bring to a soft boil again, then place in the oven.

Approximately half way through the cooking time, pull the pot out of the oven and give it a good stir. When there is approximately 15 minutes left to the cook time, pull it out again and give a good stir. Back into the oven it goes, no lid this time, and place some crusty bread wrapped in foil into the oven next to the soup pot.

Pull from the oven, let set for a few minutes and serve.

I forgot to take a picture of the pot of soup last night, this one is of my leftovers for lunch today. YUM!