Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup

Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup is rich, hearty and with a good whack of chilli heat if you want.

Although the chorizo is a must, you can change around the beans and type of greens you include. I like cannellini beans and cavolo nero, but swap in your favourite beans and add cabbage, spinach or regular curly kale instead if you like.

To take this tasty, comforting soup to the next level, I recommend topping each warming bowlful with crispy bits of chorizo plus crunchy garlic and chorizo-flavoured croutons.

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I think Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup is my favourite soup so far this Autumn.

Thick with beans and vegetables, with bold flavour from the chorizo, plus a spicy kick, it’s just what’s needed this time of year.

It effectively comes from the same stable as the Bean, Bacon & Cabbage Soup I shared last year. In that post I said that the soup shared its roots with many found across western Europe. What they all have in common is the pairing of economical beans, leafy greens and a bit of pig in the form of ham, bacon or sausage.

Whereas Bean, Bacon & Cabbage Soup probably owed more to France and Italy, today’s offering lies firmly in the Spanish camp due to the inclusion of chorizo.

For the greens, I’ve used cavolo nero, sometimes called Tuscan kale. We have lots of the dark green, crinkly leaves in our garden from late Autumn to early Spring.

I think it works well with the deep, strong flavours of this soup. But if you can’t get cavolo nero, then use spinach, chard, savoy cabbage or any other greens.

You can also swap the cannellini beans with your favourite pulse. I think chickpeas would be the obvious alternative: as garbanzos they’re common in Spanish cooking.

DULCE O PICANTE¿

When choosing your ingredients, you’ll need to decide whether or not you want your soup to have chilli heat. I like mine to be medium-hot.

You can buy mild or spicy chorizo sausage, although I prefer the spicy one.

As I’m sure you know, chorizo gets its distinctive colour and flavour from paprika. To accentuate that flavour, I add some Spanish smoked paprika, or pimentón, to the soup.

As with the chorizo, you can buy pimentón either sweet (dulce) or hot (picante). I usually buy dulce as it suites a wider range of uses.

If you do want more heat, you can always add some dried chilli flakes anyway. Which is what I’ve done with this soup.

But it’s entirely up to you whether to make the soup dulce o picante.

CHORIZO, BEAN & CAVOLO NERO SOUP

This wonderfully full-flavoured soup is really easy to make.

Besides the ingredients in the title and the spices already mentioned, you’ll need a few common staples. Olive oil, onion, garlic, celery, carrot, potato, and chicken stock. (By the way, homemade chicken stock is far superior to anything you can buy. Never throw out chicken bones! Just simmer with odds and ends of veg).

After we’ve sauteed chopped chorizo until it starts to give out its orange-red fat, we add in the vegetables and cook until they’re softening nicely.

Then it’s in with chopped potato and the beans plus seasoning. These are shortly followed by the chicken stock.

I like this soup to be nice and thick. Not quite stand-your-spoon-in-it-thick, but going that way. If you want to achieve this too, use the smaller amount of stock recommended in the detailed recipe card at the end of the post.

After the soup has bubbled away until the vegetables are tender, we add in the shredded cavolo nero and some parsley.

Five minutes or so later and the soup is ready. Technically, anyway.

I say ‘technically’ because, as with virtually all my soups, I like to go in with my stick blender and give it a good whizz.

Not so that it’s completely pureed. But just enough so that a proportion of the ingredients become creamy, thickening the soup while leaving a slight chunkyness.

SOUP TOPPINGS

I think a sprinkle of something over each bowl always makes soup much more appetizing. Even just a little chopped parsley.

Some chunky bread on the side and you’re good to go.

But my very favourite topping for Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup is some tiny pieces of chorizo which I’ve cooked in olive oil until crispy.

Then, I use the now-spicy, orangey-red oil to make croutons. I cut up slightly stale bread (homemade sourdough is ideal), mix it with the oil and some chopped garlic, then bake it in the oven while the soup’s cooking.

The crispy chorizo bits and the crunchy croutons are a great contrast to the rich, thick and hot soup.

If you don’t fancy even the teeny bit of extra work required for the crispy chorizo and croutons, how about some cubes of cheese?

I think goat’s cheese goes particularly well with chorizo, but any tasty cheese that will go seductively goey would be good.

For the bowl of next-day-soup-leftovers above, there’s goat’s cheese handmade here in Staffordshire by Guernsleigh Cheese as well as leftover croutons plus a bit more crispy chorizo 😋.

With these optional but highly recommended extras, I think a big bowl of Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup is hearty enough to be a main course.

Rich, tasty and utterly satisfying, give it a try and I think this soup will become one of your favourite Autumn and Winter warmers too.

Have you made Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup?

Leave a comment and don’t forget to rate the recipe.

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Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup

Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup is rich & hearty with a chilli kick. Even better topped with crispy chorizo bits & paprika-garlic croutons.

Course Soup, Main Course, Lunch, Light Meal, Stew

Cuisine Spanish, European

Servings 3

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 150 g chorizo skinned, roughly chopped
• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 1 large carrot diced small
• 1 stick celery finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic finely chopped
• salt & pepper
• 1 medium potato (150-180g) peeled or unpeeled, diced small
• 240 g cooked cannellini beans equivalent to a 400g tin after draining & rinsing
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• ½-1 tsp dried chilli flakes optional
• 600-750 ml chicken stock
• 120 g cavolo nero (or other greens) after weighing, discard tough stems & roughly chop the leaves
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped

Chorizo & Crouton Topping (optional)

• 1 thick slice good crusty bread e.g. sourdough cut into small dice
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• salt & pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 20 g chorizo skinned, very finely chopped

Instructions

1. Over medium heat, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan then add the chorizo. Cook for 5 minutes so it releases its orangey-red fat.

2. Add the prepared onion, carrot, celery and garlic then season lightly with salt and plenty of pepper.

3. Cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are starting to soften and brown (12-15 min).

4. Stir in the potato, cannellini beans, smoked paprika plus chilli flakes if using. Cook for 2-3 minutes.

5. Stir in the stock, put a lid on and bring to a boil.

   Turn down to a simmer and cook until the potato is tender (approx 10 min).

6. Stir in the shredded cavolo nero and HALF the parsley, then simmer until all the vegetables are soft.

7. Remove from the heat and liquidize approximately half of the soup (a stick or immersion blender is easiest).

8. Check whether more salt or pepper is needed and, if necessary, gently reheat the soup before serving with the optional toppings.

Chorizo & Crouton Topping (optional but highly recommended)

1. Preheat the oven to 220C / 200C Fan / Gas 6 with a small baking tray inside.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the diced bread, garlic, salt and pepper.

3. Put the olive oil and very finely chopped chorizo into a small frying pan over moderate heat.

   Cook until the chorizo releases its orangey-red fat then turn up the heat and cook until the chorizo turns crispy. Take off the heat.

4. Holding back the chorizo with a spoon, tip the pan so that the oil drains to one side.

   Transfer the chorizo to a piece of kitchen paper to drain further.

5. Pour the oil over the bread and garlic and toss to coat it.

6. Place the bread on the preheated baking tray in a single layer and put in the oven.

   Cook until crispy and browned all over, turning occasionally and making sure they don't burn (10-15 minutes).

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