This is a go-to winter soup for several reasons. It's deeply flavorful, relies on just a few winter vegetables, and the wonderfully satisfying final product belies the modest effort required in the kitchen. If you're not a fan of kale, or at least don't think you'd enjoy a soup which showcases it as a main ingredient, keep an open mind when considering this recipe. This soup is built on the classic and easy-to-love Spanish combination of chorizo and potato. Roasting the kale as called for below turns the vegetable into something unexpectedly savory and perfectly compliments the other hearty flavors in the soup.
When we need chorizo, we typically call ahead to Whole Foods to request a batch of loose turkey chorizo for our guests who shy away from pork. Ordering the sausage in its loose form saves you the trouble of removing it from casings and requesting turkey keeps the soup a bit lower in fat. The traditional pork version is available in nearly every supermarket or at Mexican grocers throughout the city. If you can't find chorizo, you could try a spicy chicken sausage instead. If you're using one that's precooked, just slice the sausage into rounds before sauteing.
The original soup recipe from Bon Appetit magazine, and all recipes related to authentic renditions of patatas bravas, call for Spanish chorizo. This is a dry, smoked sausage that can be difficult to find in the states. While we feel comfortable substituting a fresh sausage instead, we can't imagine the soup without the addition of smoked Spanish paprika. It may take a little searching, but this is a spice which is worth the trouble. Once you use it, you'll find yourself reaching for it time and again. In Chicago, it's available in several well-stocked groceries, but the freshest and tastiest Pimentón de La Vera Dulce is to be found at the Spice House on Wells. Enjoy!
POTATO SOUP WITH KALE AND CHORIZO
Serves 50
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Decant 3 gallons of spring water into your largest (really large!) stock pot and put over high heat.
Scrub potatoes clean, removing any blemishes with a small knife, and dice into small pieces. When water reaches a roiling boil, stir in soup mix, bouillon cubes and diced potatoes. Reduce heat and allow soup to cook at a gentle boil for 15 minutes.
While soup is cooking, heat olive oil over medium heat in a very large skillet. Add onions to pan and saute for 6-7 minutes until translucent. Add chorizo to pan and saute until just lightly browned. Transfer contents of saute pan into the stock pot and stir well to combine. (You can add a ladle or two of hot soup to the saute pan as necessary to help transfer all the contents.)
While soup is cooking and chorizo is being sauteed, toss strips of kale in a large bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and season generously with sea salt. Divide kale between two XL sheet pans (or several smaller sheet pans) and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the edges of the leaves have become crisp. Transfer kale to the stock pot and stir well to combine.
When we need chorizo, we typically call ahead to Whole Foods to request a batch of loose turkey chorizo for our guests who shy away from pork. Ordering the sausage in its loose form saves you the trouble of removing it from casings and requesting turkey keeps the soup a bit lower in fat. The traditional pork version is available in nearly every supermarket or at Mexican grocers throughout the city. If you can't find chorizo, you could try a spicy chicken sausage instead. If you're using one that's precooked, just slice the sausage into rounds before sauteing.
The original soup recipe from Bon Appetit magazine, and all recipes related to authentic renditions of patatas bravas, call for Spanish chorizo. This is a dry, smoked sausage that can be difficult to find in the states. While we feel comfortable substituting a fresh sausage instead, we can't imagine the soup without the addition of smoked Spanish paprika. It may take a little searching, but this is a spice which is worth the trouble. Once you use it, you'll find yourself reaching for it time and again. In Chicago, it's available in several well-stocked groceries, but the freshest and tastiest Pimentón de La Vera Dulce is to be found at the Spice House on Wells. Enjoy!
POTATO SOUP WITH KALE AND CHORIZO
Serves 50
- 3 gallons spring water
- 7 lbs russet potatoes, scrubbed and cubed into 1/4" pieces
- 36 oz good quality Potato Soup mix
- 8 cubes (about 3oz) salt-free vegetable bouillon (we like Rapunzel brand)
- 1/2 cup olive oil, divided
- 4 large onions, diced
- 3 lbs chorizo sausage, loose (we use turkey Chorizo special-ordered from Whole Foods)
- 9 lbs kale, leaves torn from stems and roughly chopped into thin strips
- 4 TBS smoked Spanish paprika
- 1 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
- sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- 1 loaf bakery bread, cubed into crouton-sized pieces plus 1/4 cup olive oil
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Decant 3 gallons of spring water into your largest (really large!) stock pot and put over high heat.
Scrub potatoes clean, removing any blemishes with a small knife, and dice into small pieces. When water reaches a roiling boil, stir in soup mix, bouillon cubes and diced potatoes. Reduce heat and allow soup to cook at a gentle boil for 15 minutes.
While soup is cooking, heat olive oil over medium heat in a very large skillet. Add onions to pan and saute for 6-7 minutes until translucent. Add chorizo to pan and saute until just lightly browned. Transfer contents of saute pan into the stock pot and stir well to combine. (You can add a ladle or two of hot soup to the saute pan as necessary to help transfer all the contents.)
While soup is cooking and chorizo is being sauteed, toss strips of kale in a large bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and season generously with sea salt. Divide kale between two XL sheet pans (or several smaller sheet pans) and roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes until the edges of the leaves have become crisp. Transfer kale to the stock pot and stir well to combine.
Using the same bowl as the kale, toss cubed bread with 1/4 cup olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. Transfer bread cubes to a sheet pan and roast in the same oven with the kale until cubes become crisp and lightly browned. Set aside until soup is ready.
To finish soup, stir in paprika and parsley and taste for flavor. Season with salt and pepper as desired. Continue to cook soup until potatoes are soft, turn off heat and allow
soup to sit for about 5 minutes. Serve hot and garnish with homemade croutons.
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