Issues → January/February 2011 → Food →
Best Cook: Portuguese Kale Soup
Ruth O'Donnell's kale soup has nourished generations of her Provincetown family and friends.
by Edie Clark
Ruth O'Donnell is standing in her kitchen, shredding kale for her special Portuguese soup, which she's made … how many times? "I can't count that high," she says. "I'm 96, and I've been making it since I was a girl. I make it all the time."
Her nieces, Paula and Ruth ("Baby Ruth"), are in the next room. They're visiting, and last night a big pot of this soup, which they call "Portuguese penicillin," vanished before Ruth's eyes. So she's making more. A petite, lively, brown-skinned lady with bright eyes, Ruth has cooked in this particular kitchen for 72 years, the path between sink and stove well worn.
It's been a long, good life, but not without adversity. Her mother was left on a doorstep in Portugal; a benevolent family took her in and brought her over to live with them after they settled in America. "My mother was poor, poor, poor," Ruth says. "I learned to cook from her as soon as I was big enough to stand beside her. She'd have something on the stove, and she'd be showing me how to do it as she went along. That's how I learned. We never had recipes. We'd just do it."
A widow of 44 years, Ruth is never alone. She has three daughters and "I can't tell you how many grandchildren I have!" In fact, she has great-grandchildren, and her refrigerator door is covered with their faces. She may not be able to count them all (photos of family gatherings look like conventions or town meetings), but she can tell you all about each one of them.
Living where she does, in the heart of Provincetown, Massachusetts, Ruth has pretty much seen it all. She worked as a waitress for much of her life: 21 years at the Provincetown Inn and 20 more at Ciro and Sal's, both widely known Provincetown eateries, which has made Ruth widely known, too. Aside from her soup, she's famous for her "flippers," a kind of Portuguese fried dough, similar to fritters.
"I used to have people in this house lined up," Ruth remembers, as she points through the kitchen and out into the dining room. "Sometimes I didn't even know who was here, but they were all here for my flippers. I couldn't flip them fast enough."
When the soup is done, we sit at the little table as more nieces arrive, bearing gifts. They hug, they kiss. It's time to be together, talk, and have soup.
Read photographer Julie Bidwell's blog about meeting Ruth O' Donnell.
RECIPES
Reader Comments
Comment from Sandra Evans on January 10, 2011
This is the best kale soup I have made or tasted. I live in a predominately Portuguese community and this recipe is better than I have had at our many Portuguese restaurants. Ruth is correct in the addition of the Bean with Bacon soup as it gives an added special flavor and richness. Thank you Ruth for this excellent recipe that I will made many times!
Comment from Judy Staffer on January 13, 2011
This soup is terrific. I\'m no slouch at making soup myself but I have never made any like this. The first pot dissappeared too fast and I am making another one today. During a winter storm in upstate New York this warms the house and smells delicious. My thanks to Ruth for sharing this recipe with all Yankee readers.
Comment from Sonny Marshall on January 20, 2011
I grew up in Foxboro, Mass, but now live in Marietta Georgia. When I was a child I loved Kale soup. I haven\'t tried this yet but will this weekend. It has been snowing down here and it will be good to try some good Kale soup.
Comment from MaryBeth Garbauskas on January 21, 2011
I\'m going to make this soup form my playoff party on Sunday the temps are supposed to be in the negative numbers by nightfall. So even though the Patriots are out. My home will be warm and cozy with my family and this beautiful soup!!
Comment from Melodie DaCorta on January 29, 2011
I can\'t believe how much kale 1# equals! When ripped into pieces, it completely fills my largest pot. What makes it worse is that I was doubling the recipe so I\'m only 1/2 way through the shredding process. I could feed a couple hutches of rabbits for a week. Am I on track with all this kale? Thanks for your help!
Comment from Anne Slater on February 14, 2011
I made this soup for my son and he (and I) loved it. My late neighbor, Mrs. Sousa, used to make this for Scott when he was young. Being English, I had never had this before and absolutely loved it. Mrs. O\'Donnell\'s soup is now a permanent fixture in our households! Thank you so much!
Comment from Sharon Roberts on December 20, 2011
How about the flipper recipe? Would be great to have my family lined up for them!!
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