Authentic ?? Portuguese Kale soup from New England's Portuguese kitchens uses linguica ( why would you use Mexican flavored sausage in a portuguese soup?) and white beans and sometimes potatoes too. Onions and garlic sauteed with the sausage, add chicken broth and soaked beans....cover and simmer for about an hour and a half when the beans are getting tender add great bunches of chopped kale and cook another 45 minutes to an hour.

The chorizo here in the Tampa bay area is used by the Cubans but I just didn't know if it is a certain variety for their taste profile or if there are other varieties more suited to Portuguese. I know the Mexicans also use chorizo but don't know if they have their own type or not either. I'll go ahead and get the Linguica since you are saying it's more authentic. Are the white beans the white kidneys or the garbanzos, or pea beans, etc.?

Use either linguica or Spanish chorizo. Don't use Mexican chorizo. it's fresh and doesn't have the same flavoring and ability to infuse the soup.

I know it's not authentic really, but I use Spanish chorizo that's been peeled of skin and pulsed up in the food processor.

The flavor and color are wonderful.

I wouldn't worry too much about authenticity unless you also have tronchuda to use. If you're using regular kale it's kind of an improv already.

I'm sure the Portuguese immigrants in Tampa don't necessarily make the same kale soup as the immigrants in Eastern Massachusetts. What I have eaten was probably navy beans.

I use the white cannellini beans.

I had kale soup in the Azores (Portuguese) and it was *amazing*! I've never heard of tronchuda, but writersblock may be right about that because their 'kale' wasn't exactly like the kale I buy here. FWIW, they used red beans in their soup... and mushrooms. :)

Cannelini here.

A short story - My extended not terribly close family collected in Provincetown for a memorial for brilliant but difficult aunt maybe 8 years ago. A blizzard socked us all in (except my sister and mom who escaped without me just ahead of the storm) at an off season hotel. The hotel staff kindly unearthed a dispiriting collection of canned soup and tiny boxes of cereal. My family takes eating seriously So over several days varying groups of family would wade out into the snow to sample kale soup at a variety of restaurants and compare. My aunt would have been amused.

Tronchuda (couve tronchuda) is Portuguese Kale. Kind of halfway between regular kale and cabbage;

http://www.rareseeds.com/tronchuda-kale/

Much more bitter than normal kale. I've grown it because it's supposed to be more heat-tolerant than other kales, but I have to say I dislike it in anything except a soup with a lot of other strong flavors. Very pretty plant, though.

Who knew there were so many varieties of kale and chorizo? I looked up chorizo and yes there are different types. And I'd never even heard of Tronchuda, looked it up and the plant actually looks more like cabbage. I grow kale and have never seen tronchuda seeds anywhere, now that I know it exists I'll look closer but I doubt it's readily available at the big box stores.

I can get Linguica and Chorico, not to be confused with Chorizo which is different. In the Tampa area Publix by my house carries it or you can ask them to get it for you. It is not the Spanish style they sell Gaspars Portuguese Linguica and Chorico. I can post a picture I have it in my freezer now.

I was married to a Portuguese man for 20 years. His grandparent came directly from the Azores. I live in the New Bedford area of Ma that whole time before I moved back to Florida last year.

To make Kale soup you need Linguica or Chorico or it does not taste correct. If you have never had authentic Portuguese kale soup you wont notice any difference obviously.

Typical recipe

Kale

Broth

Potatoes

Kidney Beans

Onions and garlic

Linguica or if you like it spicey Chorico. Not to be confused with Chorizo.

Some people put cabbage and also pasta or carrots in their soup but that is not traditional. Just a variation. It is basically a poor mans soup.

I doubt it's readily available at the big box stores.

I actually have seen it at HD, but I can't remember whether it was Burpee or Ferry Morse. I got mine from Baker Creek and I'd offer to send you the rest of the seeds but I've already given them away.

My husband is from New Bedford. We've retired to Cape Cod. Gaspar's is our favorite brand of linguicia. I don't care for the coarser textured chorico. In addition to using linguicia in kale soup, we always include large chunks of it in clam boils. We also take the skin off, blitz it in the food processor and fry it like hamburger. Makes a great pizza topping. I also use it in my stuffed quahogs. Restaurants here offer linguicia omelettes.

OK, I made the soup following the simple recipes above. I chose to buy the Linguica. The soup turned out really good, very richly flavored broth from the kale. However, I think I prefer the Italian style with the spicier flavored sausage. It's a first and it was good, but like Italian better.