Caldo Verde

Ingredients:

4-5 sausages, (Linguica sausage, maybe Andouille or Italian 10"-12" in length)
6-8 large russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 very large bag of kale (stems removed)
6-12 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
20 cups chicken broth
kosher salt to taste

cooking oil

Directions:

In a large deep skillet or pot, heat oil and fry the sausages on medium heat. Remove the sausages when browned. This soup takes on the spices of the sausages as its own flavour. So it is important to select the right sausage. Linguica sausage is traditional for this recipe, but you can use any type of sausage you like. I've been using Italian sausages lately and find it works just as well. Just remember not to discard the oil! It will be used to fry the onions and flavour the soup. Let the sausages cool before you slice them. I find the soup tastes so much better when the sausages are cooked in a skillet that is not teflon coated. You want the fond which is the burnt residue from frying meat and you can't get that using a non-stick pan. I tend to undercook the sausages a little bit. By undercooking them, they won't be dry and adding them to the soup at the end will ensure they will be fully cooked before serving.

Add onions, garlic and salt to the skillet with the sausage infused oil. Hopefully you have fond on the bottom of your skillet. Add a bit of water and stir the onions around all the while scraping the bottom of the skillet. The fond should dissolve with the moisture you've added and this will add that much more flavour in your soup. Fry until the onions are translucent and soft. Remove the onions and garlic to a bowl and set aside. Add the chicken broth and potatoes to the skillet. I usually quarter the potatoes so that they cook faster. Bring to a medium boil and continue to cook until the potatoes are soft and easily broken. Mash up the potatoes in the pot until the liquid becomes thick. Russet potatoes are very starchy, which is why they are a good candidate for this recipe. Now add in the onions and garlic and reduce the heat and let simmer. I believe in letting things simmer a long time to bring out the flavour. I usually let it simmer for up to an hour and then add the kale. How long you cook the kale depends on whether you prefer firm or very soft. Once the kale is cooked to your preference, add the sausage slices to the hot soup so that the sausages are warmed up and allowed to fully cook. It shouldn't take long. Just a few minutes. Add salt to taste and serve with croutons.

Addendum: July 23, 2023. If you've been here before, the above recipe has been updated. I've made this dish many times now and I feel I've finally mastered it. In the past, the soup wasn't as flavourful, hence the reason I used chili powder. But that was a mistake. The key is the fond. The fond gives the soup a lot of flavour in addition to the garlic. However, the garlic was from the garden that I had harvested in the Fall. After nine months, the garlic had lost some of its pungency so that's why I put in two full bulbs. Yes you read right. Two bulbs, not cloves. If you have fresh garlic that is quite pungent you can reduce the amount unless you love garlic as much as I do. I made this soup last week for my nephew as he was over for our weekly six hour session of Elden Ring and he enjoyed it immensely. Both the soup and the game. I've removed chili powder from this recipe. I found chili powder creates a bitter taste to this dish. I think my taste buds have changed over the years so that means I won't be using chorizo sausage as a substitute to Linguica.