Caldo Verde, Portugese Greens Soup
Prep Time:10 mins, Cook Time: 35 mins, Total Time: 45 mins
January 26, 2017
I can’t even begin to tell you how awful I feel about the neglect of Eat Your Veg. I do miss it, truly. But circumstances dictate I simply don’t have the disposable time that I used to have these days, which whilst sad, on a positive note does mean my work elsewhere is good. More on my exciting new workie ventures in a blog one day soon. But for now my 2017 promise to myself is to dive into Eat Your Veg with a recipe whenever I have a spare evening, and tonight is one such evening. So here I give you Caldo Verde, part soup, part stew. A hearty and substantial winter warmer of a bowlful that’s sure to knock the socks off this cold snap we’re currently experiencing.
Caldo Verde is essentially a simple Portuguese potato and robust greens soup flavoured with chorizo, I tend to cram as much greenery in there as it will hold, usually using a mix of savoy cabbage and kale. I’m not the biggest fan of chorizo by the way, don’t get me wrong I do love it, but from a health point of you it’s a highly flavoured highly processed meat product that I wouldn’t advise eating on a regularly basis. But as a once in a while treat I’m sure it’s fine, which is all it is in these parts. My kids love it too, and by adding a touch to a soup like this it’s a great way of coercing them to tuck into their greens.
Onions, Leeks, Cabbage, Kale
Great For:
Big Kids, Grown Ups, Quickie Lunches or Dinners, Winter Warmers, Using up your Greens
Notes:
Use any greens you have but the soup is particularly relish with robust kale (either curly kale or cavolo nero black kale) or savoy cabbage.
Caldo Verde, Portugese Greens Soup
Ingredients Prep Time:10 mins, Cook Time: 35 mins, Total Time: 45 mins
For a hearty meal for 4:
1 very large Onion or two Leeks, finely diced or sliced
3 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp Olive Oil
150g Chorizo, sliced and each slice cut into 6/8 small pieces
600g Potatoes (about 4 large ones), peeled and diced into 1cm chunks
1 litre weak Chicken Stock
2 Bay Leaves
Salt & Black Pepper
250g to 400g Savoy Cabbage, Chard, Curly Kale, Cavelo Nero or a mix of any of these, finely shredded
1. In a large saucepan saute the onion or leek in the olive oil for 5 to 10 minutes until very soft
2. Add the garlic and diced chorizo and continue to saute for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Stir in the diced potatoes and pour in the stock, season with a generous pinch or two of black pepper. You can add salt but the soup should be salty enough from the stock and chorizo.
4. Simmer until the potatoes are nearly cooked then add the greens to your soup. If you want a heavy soup add as much as the soup will take.
5. Simmer until the potatoes are very tender and falling apart and the greens are cooked.
