My All-time Favorite Soup is Now Your New Favorite Soup

There’s nothing like a bowl of comforting, hot soup on a chilly winter day. My favorite soup of all time is called caldo verde. Today, you can find this delicious soup throughout the country although originally it comes from the northern, Minho region of Portugal. I’d go so far as to say that caldo verde has become our national soup and with good reason! Watch me as I guide you through this recipe. You can thank me when your families or guests can’t get enough of it!

This is traditional Portuguese soul food at its best. It’s easy to make, healthy and yummy – the holy trinity of recipes.

Ingredients:
Sea salt
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 medium potatoes
250 g (appox. 9 oz) finely chopped collard greens into strings (in these photos, I’ve used kale)
Extra virgin olive oil
Optional, but highly recommended: Chouriço, thickly sliced, to taste

Portuguese tip: an immersion blender (absolutely vital in Portuguese cooking) is ideal for this recipe.

Instructions:
1. Add salt to a pot of water and place on a high heat. Add the onion and one of the garlic cloves.
2. Add the potatoes (I cut them into pieces so they cook faster) to the water.

3. In a separate pot, heat some water and add the collard greens to it once it is boiling. Let cook for approximately 3 minutes so the collard greens are bright green – do not overcook it. Afterwards, quickly drain the hot water (I dump the contents into a colander in the sink) and then rinse it with cold water so the collard greens stop cooking.

4. Back at the first pot, turn off the heat. Add the remaining clove of garlic and a generous dash of olive oil. Use the immersion blender and blend until the ingredients are blended together.

5. Add the greens and the chouriço, and stir. Add more salt at this point, if necessary.

6. To serve, I like to add a single thick slice of chouriço on each soup plate. This soup is delicious when accompanied by a side of corn bread.

Finally, let me know what you think! Bom apetite, as we say in Portugal!