Caldo Verde Soup

My sister and her husband honeymooned in Portugal last October. While there, they fell in love with this soup. They introduced me to it at their house one evening, and I, too, fell in love. This is going to be a go-to soup in the Winter.

This soup can be a little messy to make, but a hand blender makes it so much easier. I love my hand blender for many recipes, but it's a MUST for this one!CALDO VERDE
Source: http://www.soupsong.com/rkale1.html
Ingredients:
1 onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
4 tbsp. olive oil
6 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
2 quarts cold water
6 oz. dry, garlicy sausage - thiny sliced (like linguica, chorizo, or pepperoni - I used chorizo)
2.5 tsp. salt
1 lb. collards, kale, or turnip greens (I used kale) - washed, trimmed, rolled up and sliced into extra fine shreds

Directions:
In a large saucepan, saute the onion and garlic in 3 tbsps. of olive oil for about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes and saute, stirring constantly for 2-3 minutes. Add water, cover, and boil gently over medium heat for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are mushy. Meanwhile, fry the sausage in a skillet over low heat for about 10 minutes, until most of the fat has drained. Drain well and reserve.

When the potatoes are soft, remove from the heat and either mash them in the pan with a masher or puree them - then add the sausage, salt, and pepper. Return to medium heat, cover, and simmer for 5 more minutes.

When ready to serve, add the shreds of greens and summer uncovered for about 5 minutes - until they are tender and the color of jade. Mix in the last tbsp. of oil, taste for seasoning, and ladle into large flat soup plates.