This is the Portuguese soup. This version, whose appearance does seem at odds with its title, is adapted from a recipe in Ana Patuleia Ortins' Portugese Homestyle Cooking.
Originally, this was made with Galician cabbage, but kale, available from well-stocked organic stores, is a widely accepted substitute. I used cavolo nero, or black kale, in the attendant photo. Also, do get organic, floury potatoes for this - they give better flavour and texture.
Ingredients
1.5 kg floury potatoes, preferably organic, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
500g kale
1.5 litres good pork or chicken stock
5 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
3 tablespoons olive oil
Method
Saute the onion and garlic with the olive oil in a deep saucepan until they are softly translucent. Add the chucked potatoes and the stock. Stick in the bay leaves and peppercorns, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, till the potato is tender. Fish out the bay leaves and peppercorns and puree the soup velvet. Return this ivory liquid to the saucepan.
Clean the kale leaves, snipping off all wizened or hardened limbs. Scissor out the spine of the each kale leaf and discard. Finely shred the green, corrugated leaves. Younger leaves, or those no longer than 2 inches, can get away whole or halved. Add the kale to the soup and simmer for 3 - 5 minutes till tender. They should retain a little of their squeakiness. Season to taste, and serve in soup bowls.
Note: A few drops of black truffle oil would be superb, even though it does breach Portuguese tradition. A solitary lozenge of frizzled linguica (pork sausage) is customarily floated on top. If these are hard to find, substitute with chorizo (another version of pork sausage) or morcilla (blood sausage). And make it 3 lozenges. One is such a lonely number.
