Caldo Verde

Caldo Verde is a very traditional soup of Portugal. It is made and loved all over Portugal. I've heard it described as the national dish. It is a very simple soup, with onions, garlic, potatoes, and green cabbage. Here is some more information. A good friend came over the other day, and taught me how to make it. She prefers to make it without chouriço, so we made a meatless version of it. It was fun to learn how to make it, and I'm glad to have this simple recipe in my recipe collection now. :)

I used yellow potatoes comparable to Yukon Golds. You can use a chicken bouillon cube, or something like Better than Bouillon to flavor this.

We used Portuguese couve in this; it's a cabbage that doesn't grows in the U.S., I believe. Kale or collard greens would be a good substitute. My friend's father-in-law grows couve in his garden; she brought some fresh couve over, already washed and sliced into very thin, ribbon-like slices. She rolls up the leaves, making them easier to slice. When preparing the cabbage or greens, make sure you cut out the tough stems and discard them.

Caldo Verde

1 onion, peeled, and cut in half

3-4 large potatoes, peeled and cut in half

1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled

Water, to cover

1-2 chicken bouillon cubes

salt, to taste (I used about 1 teaspoon)

1 pound couve, kale or collard greens, washed and sliced very thinly

1-2 teaspoons olive oil

In a large stockpot, place the onions, potatoes, and garlic. Pour in cold water, covering the veggies by about 2 inches. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down to a low boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender, in batches, and carefully), blend the soup until it is totally smooth with no lumps. Bring to a boil again. Add the cabbage or greens, and bouillon cubes and cook for 10-20 minutes, until cabbage is tender. (If water level has lowered, add a little more). Add salt to taste. Stir in olive oil and serve.

*I was serving this to my kids, so I blended up the final soup, cabbage and all. That way, when you eat it, you don't have strips of cabbage hanging everywhere. Before I blended it, my kids thought it was "seaweed soup". Wierdos!

*If you wish to add some Portuguese chouriço to the soup, you can either drop it in with the cabbage, or saute it in a separate pan and then add it to the soup.

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