It is late in September and I haven’t posted for you guys in weeks! Back-to-school is a challenging time, and this year my college teaching career has taken a turn for the better and busier (tenure track, presentations, grant-writing, event-planning AND a new edition of the textbook), so I have been all-in at the college and all out of commission in the food-writing biz.
But that doesn’t mean I have been ordering take-away dinners. I just haven’t been narrating our every meal! (And I haven’t been doing much new stuff either, but sticking to my tried-and-true reliable recipes.)
Andouille sausage is not, perhaps the most traditional choice, but it works!
However, a good price on some D‘Artagnan andouille sausage at Fairway Market and armfuls of late summer greens from Restoration Farm CSA and a kicking homemade beef stock in the freezer assembled themselves in my head into a delicious soup for the cool early fall air. When I say assembled themselves, I mean it: this is an easy-peasy soup that doesn’t take much effort.
I will post more in the coming days, I hope; I have a few Edible Long Island articles to catch you up on as well!
A delicious soup for a cool day when you want a soup that warms but doesn’t overstuff you
Caldo verde (Portuguese green soup with sausage)
2 generous tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
6 oz andouille (or other spicy, robust sausage), sliced in ¼ rounds
1 Cup onion, diced fine
2 Tbs garlic, minced
6 Cups sturdy, leafy greens (kale, collards, escarole, chard, beet greens), cleaned and torn into largish pieces
2 Cups potatoes, cubed
6-8 cups cooking liquid; at least four Cups being a good, flavorsome, low-salt stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil in your soup pot until rippling. Add sausage and lower heat to medium. Cook sausage until browned and remove to a plate, setting aside for later.
To the seasoned oil, add the onions and garlic and sauté at medium-low until translucent and tender (the longer the better). Add your leafy greens and wilt briefly. Then add potatoes and cooking liquid. Bring to a boil, then simmer until greens and potato are tender (15-20 minutes). (some people mash or put the broth into the food processor at this point; I don’t, but might start to convince the little guy it is pesto soup?) Return sausage to the pot, warm for five minutes and serve in bowls with crusty bread.
Hot, Cheap & Easy 