Sopa de Nabiças (Portuguese Turnip Greens Soup)

Caldo verde gets all the attention, but sopa de nabiças is the soup my mother-in-law actually makes more often, because turnip greens show up in her garden long before the kale does. It is built on the same potato-and-olive-oil base, just with a peppery, slightly bitter green instead of couve galega.

Nabiças are the leafy tops of young turnips, sold in bunches at Portuguese and Brazilian markets, and they cook down into something closer to mustard greens than kale — sharper, a little more assertive, which is exactly what makes this soup interesting instead of just being caldo verde’s understudy.

If nabiças are not sold near you, this is one of the rare Portuguese recipes where I will happily point you toward a substitute without feeling guilty about it: mustard greens or turnip greens sold loose at any American grocery store work just fine.

Sopa de Nabiças Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes · Cook time: 35 minutes · Total: 50 minutes · Servings: 6 · Calories: ~190 per serving

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 8 cups water or light chicken broth
• 1 pound nabiças or turnip greens (or mustard greens), stemmed and thinly sliced
• 1 chouriço link (about 6 ounces), optional, sliced
• Salt and black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
2. Add the potatoes and water or broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, until the potatoes are very soft.
3. Remove from heat and blend the soup until smooth, using an immersion blender or working in batches in a stand blender.
4. Return the soup to the pot and bring back to a gentle simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add the sliced greens and simmer 5 to 7 minutes, until just tender but still bright and a little toothy.
6. If using chouriço, brown the slices in a dry skillet for 2 to 3 minutes while the greens simmer, then add to the soup or float a few slices on each bowl.
7. Serve hot with a drizzle of good olive oil and crusty bread.

Recipe Notes

• Do not overcook the greens once they go into the soup — a few minutes is all it takes, and longer cooking turns their sharp flavor dull and grayish.
• Turnip greens or mustard greens from any American grocery store are a fine substitute for true nabiças, though the flavor will be slightly more peppery.
• This soup freezes well without the greens added; blend and freeze the potato base, then add fresh greens after reheating.
• A drizzle of your best olive oil at the table makes a bigger difference here than almost any other ingredient.