A Cabbage Soup

Peel the onion and garlic and slice them thinly.

Warm a glug or two of olive oil in a large, deep saucepan, then let the onion and garlic soften in it over low heat.

Peel the potatoesI sometimes dontthen cut them into medium-sized pieces.

Combine with the onion and let cook for five minutes before adding about 4 cups (a liter) of water.

Season with salt, black pepper, and the bay leaves and let simmer for about twenty-five minutes, until the potatoes are ready to collapse.

With a fork or a potato masher, crush the potatoes so that they thicken the soup but remain quite lumpy here and there.

Cut the chorizo into thick chunks and fry in a nonstick pan until the fat runs.

Shred the cabbage finely, then stir it into the soup and simmer for three or four minutes, until tender.

Stir in the fried chorizo.

I like to pass this soup round in rough, earthenware bowls.