Couve Tronchuda, Portuguese Kale

Couve Tronchuda is known as Portuguese Cabbage by some in Hawaii, also as Couve. Portuguese Bean Soup is a beloved soup in Hawaii. My fa...Read Morether made Portuguese Bean Soup every weekend. It was almost a hobby and was certainly a labor of love. However, by the time he started his weekend obsession, Couve was no longer a backyard heirloom in Manoa. I learned of Couve from Portuguese friends on Kauai. After seeing Portuguese Cabbage offered for sale in Lowe's, I felt compelled to buy it, and started researching about it. I learned that Couve, not head cabbage, is what is normally used in Portuguese Bean Soup. Since I also love to make Portuguese Bean Soup, I now have to grow Couve !

Seeing Couve, I think that it must have been used to make stuffed cabbage in my childhood. I always wondered how head cabbage could have been used to make the stuffed cabbage dish. Now I know! It wasn't. Couve probably was used. The stuffed cabbage of my childhood was a bit like deconstructed meatloaf meets cabbage wrap. Some Meatloaf-like meat (without the bread) was placed in a couve leaf, then wrapped like a diaper and pinned in place with a toothpick. The rolls were then cooked in a baking dish topped with some tomato sauce. I remember it being served for dinner in my richest high school classmate's home. His parents were older than mine, and I believe that it was an old-timey dish even back then. Now it would be hailed as an artistic Paleo creation, lol.

Couve reminds me of Kai Lan, Chinese Broccoli. Besides using it in my Portuguese Bean Soup, I am sure that I will be using Couve in stir fry, and as a veggie in asian noodle dishes, like Kai Lan.

Couve tronchuda is a beautiful and delicious, heirloom cabbage/kale. I harvest the leaves, a few at a time, for stir fry, soups and raw ...Read Moreon sandwiches or salads. These seeds can be purchased at Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds.