Caldo Verde

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion, garlic and rosemary until tender. Add the potatoes and stock, season well and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender.

Slice the sausage into 1 cm thick pieces, shred the cabbage finely and wash and roughly chop the greens.

Roughly crush half the potatoes in the saucepan, leaving some of them whole. Add the sausages, cabbage and the greens and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the greens are just tender. Taste for seasoning.

To serve: Ladle the soup into warm bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil. Serve with warm crusty breadsticks. 

*Chicken stock: it is easy and inexpensive to make your own chicken stock. Chicken bones are readily available from the supermarket or poultry stores. Put them in a large pot with a carrot, a stick of celery, an onion and a leek, all roughly chopped. Add a bay leaf, a few parsley stalks and peppercorns and cover with fresh, cold water. Bring slowly to the boil, skimming the surface frequently. Simmer gently for an hour or two, before straining. Refrigerate overnight, remove the solidified layer of fat from the top and store in the freezer in small containers, ready for use in soups, casseroles or risotto.