Author Notes
I love the pairing of creamy beans with hearty greens. I developed this particular soup a couple of years ago; its lingering memory makes me eager to recreate it year after year, with a few small variations. (Let’s just say I added too much beer one year. A coworker walked into the breakroom while I was reheating some for lunch and asked if I was drinking. She was disappointed to learn it was just soup.)
The inspiration for this soup: On the one hand, we have frijoles borrachos, (drunken beans) a simple and addictive Mexican dish featuring pinto beans simmered with onions, garlic, chiles, beer, and a smoked meat such as bacon. (A savory side dish that’s wonderful in its own right.) On the other hand, Caldo Verde is a traditional Portuguese soup consisting of greens (usually kale) and spicy sausage (usually linguica), in broth, along with onions and garlic.
In this soup, I combine the two concepts into one satisfying bowl. I like to sub chard for the kale because the beautiful rainbow chard leaves at the Farmer’s Market are often irresistible. —indieculinary
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Ingredients
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4
spicy cured pork sausages, such as linguica or andouille
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1 pound
washed greens, such as rainbow chard or dino kale
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1 tablespoon
olive oil
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1
yellow onion
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2
jalapenos
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4
cloves of garlic
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12 ounces
beer, preferably a Mexican lager
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4 cups
chicken stock or broth
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3 cups
cooked pinto beans
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1.5 cups
water
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ground black pepper, to taste
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salt, to taste
Directions
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Dice the sausage and render in the olive oil, over low heat, in a stock pot.
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Dice the onions and jalapeno and add to the sizzling sausage and oil with a bit of ground black pepper; saute until onions are clear.
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Mince the garlic and add to the pot; stir and cook briefly.
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Add the beer and turn up the heat until the liquid is slightly reduced.
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Add the chicken stock, beans, and water.
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Dice the greens into bite-sized ribbons (be sure to include colorful stems, in the case of the chard), and add.
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Simmer soup at least 20 minutes. Taste, and salt as necessary.
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Serve! This soup is fantastic with hunks of fresh-baked bread, especially if it's been slathered with peppery olive oil and briefly crisped in the oven.
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