Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)

This is my version of the Portuguese caldo verde, traditionally the soup consists of potatoes, chorizo, stock, and collard greens. I’ve incorporated a few more veggies, and begin my version of the soup with a Mirepoix, a mix of onion, carrot, and celery, gently sauteed in butter, this adds a delicious complexity, depth, and flavour to soups, stews, and braised dishes.

I use about 5 large leaves of cavelo nero for this dish as I grow it, but you could use the same amount of collard greens, kale, or green cabbage. 

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 1 hour (approx) Serves: 6 

Ingredients 

1 tbls / a knob of butter

2 large onions - finely diced 

1 large carrot -  finely diced 

1 large (or 2 smaller) stick of celery - finely diced 

2 cloves of garlic - crushed 

1 tsp of smoked paprika 

300g of chorizo sausage, cut into small chunks (I like the traditional Martinez ones found in NZ)

3 large potatoes quartered 

1 orange kumara (sweet potato) or 250g of pumpkin cut into large chunks

2 litres of homemade chicken stock 

A tin of tomatoes 

3 bay leaves

A bunch (approx 5 large leaves) of ‘greens’ - see above - very finely shredded

A couple of tbls of extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Method

Melt the butter in a large pan

Add the onions, carrots, and celery & sweat on a low heat until translucent & turning slightly brown, about 15 minutes.

Add chorizo and garlic and cook for a further 5 mins 

Add the potatoes, kumara/pumpkin & smoked paprika & cook for another 2 minutes 

Add the stock, tinned tomatoes & bay leaves

Simmer for approximately 20  minutes until the potatoes & kumara/pumpkin are soft

With a fork, squash the potatoes and kumara/pumpkin 

Add the finely shredded greens & cook for another 10-15 minutes 

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil 

Enjoy!