* Actually it was supposed to be potatoes instead of the ditalini pasta (its small tube-shaped pasta)...but I was craving the pasta more than the potatoes, so you can go either way.

This also hits the spot on those really cold days - so think of this as a cross between Portuguese Kale Soup and Pasta Fazool (or however the heck its supposed to be spelled :P)

Taken From allrecipes.com - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Savory.....d-Potato-Soup/

* extra ingredients

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced (used a bit more, 1 1/2*)
3/4 cup diced carrot
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used one low-salt "box" stock - you know, the kind you just pour out from the sealed boxed containers - it had about 4 cups, which is why you can skip on the water. Whats more, I didnt want to dilute the rich flavors, either.)
2 cups water (skipped)
1 cup white wine
3 potatoes, halved and sliced (used 1 cup ditalini pasta*)
1 1/2 links chourico / linguica, cut into chunks*
Four Roma tomatoes from a can, plus 1/4 cup of the tomato juice*

1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh sage
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- I used dried for all of these, but I would recommend fresh as it does give the dish a bit more of a punch.

1 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups finely chopped kale leaves
1 small red chile pepper, seeded and chopped fine (I just used maybe a 1/2 teaspoon of dried chili flakes, same thing)
3 - 4 whole bay leaves*
ground salt and black pepper to taste (you wont need all that much salt to begin with)

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook and stir the onion until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrot and garlic, and cook for 5 minutes more.

2. Pour in the chicken broth, water, and white wine; stir in the potatoes, rosemary, sage, and thyme. Add in the tomatoes plus a bit of the juice (you can just squish the tomatoes around when stirring) and then bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. (With the pasta more like 10 to 15 minutes if that - and you can just fish out the bay leaves with a slotted spoon.) Add the cannelini beans, kale, chile pepper, and black pepper, and simmer, covered, for 30 more minutes.

You definitely need to put the kale and the beans AT THE END - if not, they end up getting soggy!

But very good altogether with some toasted Scala bread that you see over to the side there!

Enjoy!