Caldo Verde – Portuguese Green Soup

 FIRST POST 1-15-2010

   Classic Caldo Verde Soup

Today we’re going on a journey to Portugal were the classic green soup, “Caldo Verde” is probably the most loved and well known soup in the country.

Caldo Verde, originated in the northern Minho region of Portugal and is made with basic ingredients of potato and onion puree, and collard greens. There are many variations to this basic recipe in every Portuguese kitchen where ingredients are added such as red or white beans, ham hocks and meat bones to flavor the broth.

Sometimes Caldo Verde is mistaken for another classic known as “Kale Soup” which is very popular in the New England.  The Kale version uses cubed potatoes, chopped chourico, tomatoes, and chopped Kale and looks nothing like Caldo Verde.

This is a very healthy soup because collard greens are considered to be one of the healthiest foods in world since they’re loaded with vitamin.

I learned to make this soup at a Portuguese Restaurant named “The Matador” which my brothers owned for almost 15 years. This soup was made fresh every day and sold out by the dinner rush.

We used hand crank processor imported from Portugal to Chiffonade (translates to “made of rags” in French) to cut the collard greens into thin strips.

My recipe is for a large pot of soup that will last you for a few days but don’t worry if it seems to much because this soup keeps well and it’s even better the next day.
 
It you find that it seems to thicken the next day, just add a little amount of boiled water to make to make it thinner. This will be your family’s  favorite especially on cold winter days. Enjoy!
 
This is recipe number 1; in my Taste Portugal | 101 easy Portuguese recipes cookbook! Download this recipe and 100 other recipes to your computer, kindle, ipad and iphone on my new electronic cookbook!
 

 

Click here to buy: Taste Portugal | 101 easy Portuguese recipes

 

 
Ingredients:

10 potatoes (peeled & cut into 1 inch slices)
2 large onions
2 cloves garlic
1 large bay leaf
1/4 cup olive oil (or more to taste)
1 tbsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 whole medium Chourico (Portuguese) sausage (rinsed and dried)
6 cups of washed collard greens (sliced very thin)
10 cups water or more

 

Instructions:

In large soup stock pot, place water, broth, potatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, and bay leaf. Cook on high for 20 – 30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked.

Remove from heat, remove bay leaf and puree the soup with hand blender until it turns into a creamy like base. If you find the soup is too thick, add a little boiling water.

Place the pot on medium heat and add the Chourico sausage. Cook for about 10 minutes.

You may cook Chourico in separate pan in boiling water if you don’t want a smokiness taste in the soup.

Remove Chourico and slice into 1/4 inch slices and set aside for garnish.

 Add the collard greens and cook on medium heat  for about 5 – 10 minutes depending on your preference.

When ready to serve the soup add 3 slices of Chourico into each bowl for garnish. Add a drizzle of olive oil, and crushed pepper to taste.

Add more Chourico if you prefer of course! Enjoy!

You may also like...

10 Responses

  1. Lilly Bell says:

    i love all sorts of soup but my most favorite soup is none other chicken or beef soup.;”,

  2. Tia Maria says:

    Hi Lilly,

    Chicken Soup is one of my favorites too. Check out this site for easy chicken noodle soup…

    bye
    Tia Maria

  3. Tia Maria says:

    Hi Erica, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe. Next time you want to add the chourica but cant’ find it. You can substitute any mexican chouriso sausage or visit
    http://www.Amarals.com to buy Portuguese chourica online. They will ship it to you. Happy cooking!

  4. Cesar Pedro says:

    Nice job on the Caldo Verde recipe Maria. Good blog also. Have added it to my favourites. Thanks again. Cesar

  5. Annie says:

    great points altogether, you just gained a brand new reader.
    What would you recommend in regards to your
    post that you made some days ago? Any positive?

  6. Maria Faria says:

    could you post more portuguese recipes on soups please …

  7. Tia Maria says:

    Hi Maria,
    I’m working on the soup recipes. The latest is Sopa de Feijao Verde – Portuguese Green Bean soup. Enjoy, Tia Maria

  8. Tim says:

    This is my very favorite soup, a true family tradition.

  1. January 25, 2011

    […] followed this basic recipe, adding my own spices and seasoning toward the end, and omitting the sausage, since I […]

  2. June 15, 2016

    […] Caldo verde (green soup). Photo source: Portuguesediner […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *