Portuguese Kale Soup...vegan style

A friend at a cooking forum mentioned that she was making Portuguese kale soup. Being a kale lover, I was intrigued and asked for the recipe. The original had sausage (linguica or chorizo), so I made a batch of this vegan style (and fat free!) and it was fabulous.

Portuguese Kale Soup

• 1 large white onion, diced
• 5 of Julie Hasson's sausages (I omit the olive oil from mine and they're fine...I also tend to make mine spicier...whatever floats your boat)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 gallon water
  
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 cup potatoes, diced large
• 1/2 lb. kale, chopped roughly
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp. red pepper flakes (adjust to suit your desired level of spiciness)
• salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, saute onion in water (or veggie broth) for 5 min. Add garlic and sausage and potatoes and continue to saute another 5 min. Add 1/2 gallon water (I don't like my soups very watery, add more if you prefer). Add in kale, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper. Simmer approximately 2 hours. Add in kidney beans and adjust seasonings. Serve.

I made mine quite spicy. I really liked the hearty rustic feel of this soup. It was so tasty that I even had leftovers for brunch this morning. Yum.