Caldo Verde (Traditional Portuguese Green Soup)

  • Total time - 40 minutes
  • Prep - 10 minutes
  • Cooking - 30 minutes
  • Servings: 6
  • Country: Portugal
A served bowl of green Caldo Verde soup with dark green collard greens, a slice of Chouriço sausage, and drizzled with olive oil.

This soup is the heart of Portuguese cuisine and is surprisingly simple to prepare. The keys to its success are two elements: quality olive oil and very thinly shredded collard greens (couve galega).

The soup's base is a thick potato broth with garlic and onion, to which the shredded greens are added briefly before serving, allowing them to remain slightly crunchy. It is traditionally served with corn bread (Broa de Milho).

Ingredients

Main Ingredients

  • 1 kg potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2.5 l water
  • 1 piece onion, chopped
  • 2 pieces garlic, cloves
  • 300 g collard greens (couve galega), very thinly sliced

For Finishing

  • 150 g chouriço (or other spicy sausage), sliced
  • for drizzling olive oil (extra virgin)
  • to taste salt and pepper

Instructions

Step 1: Cooking the Base

In a large pot, cover the potatoes, onion, and garlic with water. Add salt. Bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are completely soft (about 20 minutes).

Step 2: Creating the Purée

Remove the potatoes and onion from the pot and blend them with a little of the broth until you have a smooth, creamy purée. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender directly in the pot.

Return the purée to the pot with the remaining broth. The soup should have a thin cream consistency. If it's too thick, add more hot water or broth.

Step 3: Adding Greens and Sausage

Bring the soup back to a boil.

Add the very thinly sliced collard greens/kale. Cook for only 3 to 5 minutes, maximum, so that the greens turn deep green but remain 'al dente' and crunchy. Overcooking the greens will make them bitter.

Meanwhile, pan-fry the sliced chouriço until crispy. You can reserve the fat from the sausage.

Step 4: Serving

Season the soup with salt and pepper.

Serve hot in bowls. Place 1-2 slices of the pan-fried chouriço in each serving.

Just before serving, lightly drizzle each portion with quality extra virgin olive oil (or the reserved chouriço fat).