Cabbage Soup Portuguese Style Food

GRANDMA'S CABBAGE SOUP - PORTUGUESE SOUP

Steps:

• In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, add the turnips, potatoes, onions and carrots to the pot. Decrease the heat to a simmer, add the salt and cook, covered, from 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
• With the help of an immersion blender, purée all the ingredients until totally smooth - you're looking for a creamy and slightly thick broth here. Have a taste and add a bit more salt if necessary. Now, add the cabbage strips to the pot and cook for additional 5 minutes, or until the cabbage is cooked through but still holding some texture.
• When the cabbage is cooked, turn off the heat and add the cooked cannelini beans to the soup.
• Serve the soup in bowls and drizzle a little olive oil over each serving. Perfect along with a good slice of crusty bread.

CALDO VERDE (PORTUGUESE CABBAGE SOUP)

Steps:

• Gently fry the onions and garlic in the olive oil until softened and translucent.
• Chop the chorizo into small chunks and add to the pan with the onion.
• Fry the onions and sausage for a few more minutes and then add the diced potatoes. They will absorb all the flavour from the sausage.
• Transfer the mixture to a large pan, add the stock, seasoning and bay leaves, and cook until the potatoes are soft.
• Meanwhile, very finely chop the cabbage (alternatively, buy a cabbage-shredding machine from the market as we did).
• When the potatoes are ready, mash them into the broth to make a thick base. Blanch the greens in boiling water for one minute to take off any bitterness, drain, then add to the simmering broth.
• Add as much cabbage as the broth will support - if you want heavy soup add loads of greens, if lighter, add less.
• Simmer for a few minutes. The soup will go the colour of jade.
• Mix the smoked paprika with some olive oil to make a dressing, and swirl this red magic into the vibrant green soup. Serve with some rustic country bread.

CABBAGE SOUP PORTUGUESE STYLE

Steps:

• Heat some oil in a heavy-base pan. Add the onion and the garlic and cook until they begin to soften and turn light golden.
• Add the potatoes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, then add the stock. Bring to the boil and cook covered for 15 minutes or until tender. Mash the potatoes.
• Add the sliced cabbage and cook for further 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Meanwhile, heat a non-stick frying pan and cook the chorizo until crispy.
• Pour the "caldo verde" (green soup) into individual cups and scatter over the top some chorizo crispy slices.

GRANDMA'S PORTUGUESE SOUP

Steps:

• Place beans in a large pot and cover with water. Soak 8 hours to overnight.
• Drain and rinse beans and return them to the pot. Add ham hocks and onion. Add enough water to cover ham hocks. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until beans are tender, 1 to 2 hours.
• Remove ham hocks from soup and separate the meat from the bones. Return meat to the pot and discard bones. Add sausage, cabbage, potato, and tomato sauce to the pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until cabbage is softened, 30 to 45 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

PORTUGUESE SOPAS

Steps:

• Place pot roast, onion, mint, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, and bay leaves in a large pot. Season with salt and pepper. Pour in enough water to cover the roast. Cook over medium heat until roast is tender, adding more water if needed, about 4 hours.
• Stir cabbage wedges into the pot. Simmer until cabbage is tender, about 30 minutes.

CALDO VERDE (PORTUGUESE CABBAGE SOUP)

Steps:

• Pour the oil into soup pot and saute onions for five minutes.
• Add the potatoes, cabbage, chicken stock, wine, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat and cover the pot. Simmer for an hour. Turn off the heat and let soup rest for 10 minutes.
• Serve hot.