Thursday, February 19, 2009

Cajun Style Potato and Kale Soup

Caldo Verde or Green Soup is an authentic Porutuguese soup made of Potatoes and Kale or anyother greens.The basic ingredients are mashed potatoes,mashed onions and minced/chiffonaded greens mostly kale or cabbage/collard greens and the seasonings is basically garlic and salt.It is a simple soup which also contains the chorizo or the Portuguese pork.For a vegan/vegetarian version you can avoid the meat or substute it with soy chunks/tofu/tempeh as per choice.

I tried to make a vegetarian version avoiding meat as well as substitutes based on Emerils Lagasses version of this soup,but slightly added a twist to it by using Cajun/Creole/New Orleans Seasoning which I made based on Emerils Essence recipe.On the whole it was filling and comforting.

Ingredients:
Potato: 1 very big
Onion: 1 small
Kale: 1 small bunch
Garlic: 1-2 cloves
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Cajun/Creole/New Orleans Seasoning
(yields 2/3 cups reduce if needed.)
Paprika: 2.5 tbsp
Salt: 2 tbsp
Garlic Powder: 2
Pepper: 1 tbsp
Cayenne Pepper/Chilli powder: 1 tbsp
Oregano: 1 tbsp
Thyme: 1 tbsp

Preparation:
Chop onions finely and crush/mince the garlic.Dice the potatoes into bite sized cubes.Chop the kale leaves finely(chifffonade).Chiffonading is the process of cutting the greens into thin strips/ribbons and is accomplished by stacking the leaves one over the other,rolling them tightly and then cutting across the roll to produce strips of greens.Prepare the seasoning by combining all the ingredients thoroughly.The seasoning recipe yields around 2/3 cup,so I made only 1/4th of this,but still little amount may remain.Store this in an airtight container and add it to your vegetables or rice.

Heat olive oil in a thick bottomed pan.Add onions and garlic and saute till transparent.Add cubed potatoes,veg broth,seasoning,little salt and pepper.Bring to boil and then let it simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked.Then using a potato masher/blender coarsely puree the mix,till your choice of gravy consistency is obtained.I used a potato masher and allowed chunks of potatoes in my soup.You can completely puree it if you like.Return the pureed soup to the heat.Add the minced /chiffonaded kale to this and let it simmer 10-15 minutes until the kale is cooked yet crunchy and the flavours are well blended.Adjust the salt and pepper and serve with crusty bread.



I love potatoes in any form and this version in soup with the healthy nutritious addition of greens is definitely hearty.If you do not like Cajun seasoning then fell free to add red chilli flakes as in the referenced recipe or any other spice of choice or simply salt and pepper.Each version is definitely hearty and rich.This lovely potato soup is going to No Croutons Required hosted this time by Holler of Tinned Tomatoes and the theme is Potatoes.

UPDATE on 25,Feb 2009: THANKS to LUBNA ,This soup is also travelling to SWC:Soups hosted by Neha of EasyNTastyRecipes,an event started by LG of Taste of Mysore.

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20 Comments:

Finla said...

I love those chunky pieces of potatoes in the soup.
Delicous.

Priya Suresh said...

Wat a delicious soup, would love to taste rite now..yummy!!

Usha said...

Hearty and flavorful soup, looks yum!

Sunshinemom said...

Have you reached India and already started blogging? This is superfast! Or have you scheduled the posts? Anyways the soups looks tasty and potato makes it more appealing!

Cham said...

I love Kale the twist of spice is simply give another layer of flavor to ur lovely veg soup!

Varsha Vipins said...

Love those melting potatoes..mmmmm..want tat bowl now..:)

Manju said...

looks like a total comfort food!! looks delicious!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

very comforting bowl of soup. looks delicious...

jayasree said...

Potatoes in any thing is welcome. Soup looks super declicious bursting with flavors.

PG said...

This is a lovely soup. As I have said before, I'd love to have a bowl too. For me everythign is new the original and the twist, which sounds really delicious. Yum yum!
Don't worry about the sourcream. i can find out about it from amyn others. It just occurred to me at that moment.

Unknown said...

yes same Q from my side too have you reached india....... love the soup i never use kale at home will try now

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow hot and comforting bowl..... Looks welcoming. You can send this to SWC-Soups also i think...

Anonymous said...

You are really travelling around the globe last few months. Soup looks lovely

Suganya said...

This sounds to be a healthy soup. Looks so good. Nice recipe. YUM!

Thistlemoon said...

Now that sounds nice and hearty right about now.

zlamushka said...

I love cajun and creole flavors :-) thanks for another inspiration.

Rachel Cotterill said...

That looks so tasty! I've never had cajun food so that would be fun to try, and I adore curly kale. Trying to decide who to vote for at the moment... this is near the top of my list.

Lo said...

Oh, wonderful. This is such a very healthy soup -- and I'll bet the addition of the cajun flavors makes it just outstanding. YUM.

Neha said...

Such a comforting bowl of soup, i too love potatoes in any form, thanx for sending...

Anonymous said...

I like this kale soup. these soup are sure to taste great and are extremely nutritious as well. I am going to make it for the holidays when my kids will be at home. I'll be sure that what they are eating is healthy.thank you for shearing your post.

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