The frugality implied in the words “cabbage soup” appeals to me just as much as the fanciful descriptions of Michelin-starred menus. The words evoke a rich simplicity where nothing unnecessary intrudes. This is indeed a soup of extraordinary solace, gratifying in its purity. The stark fact that this was a meal formed in poverty is there for all to see. Portugal has a cabbage soup, perhaps the best known of all, caldo verde. It is made with couve gallego, a yellow-flowered kale, whose leaves are flatter and less plumelike than the kale we generally buy in the market. The other ingredients are from the pantry, but should include a few slices of chorizo if the soup is to have any authenticity. This soup works with any coarse-textured greens and eminently, I think, with Savoy cabbage.

　　

Ingredients

enough for 4

　　a large onion

　　garlic – 2 or 3 cloves

　　olive oil

　　potatoes – 3 medium, a waxy variety

　　bay leaves – 2

　　chorizo – a large piece (about 7 ounces [200g])

　　cabbage or kale leaves – 3 or 4 handfuls

　　

Step 1

Peel the onion and garlic and slice them thinly. Warm a glug or two of olive oil in a large, deep saucepan, then let the onion and garlic soften in it over low heat.

　　

Step 2

Peel the potatoes—I sometimes don’t—then cut them into medium-sized pieces. Combine with the onion and let cook for five minutes before adding about 4 cups (a liter) of water. Season with salt, black pepper, and the bay leaves and let simmer for about twenty-five minutes, until the potatoes are ready to collapse.

　　

Step 3

With a fork or a potato masher, crush the potatoes so that they thicken the soup but remain quite lumpy here and there. Cut the chorizo into thick chunks and fry in a nonstick pan until the fat runs.

　　

Step 4

Shred the cabbage finely, then stir it into the soup and simmer for three or four minutes, until tender. Stir in the fried chorizo. I like to pass this soup round in rough, earthenware bowls.

　　Tender