Portuguese Caldo Verde Soup Recipe

If you grew up in Southern Europe or are closely acquainted with someone who did, you already know where this is going. For every bit of good fortune involved in having had the privilege of experiencing such vast cultural wealth, there is a price to pay--a curse of sorts. That curse is being destined to become restaurant food snob by the time you reach adulthood.

This doesn't mean that we expect every restaurant meal that touches our lips to be cooked in the classic French method, or be topped with truffle shavings and caviar. Instead, it means we grow to be very picky about what we expect restaurant meals to measure up to, starting with the quality of raw ingredients. Anything previously prepared off-site and defrosted in a plastic bag at the restaurant just isn't worth paying premium for.

Double the odds if you grew up with a really, really good home cook--and you learned a lot of what you know from them. In that case, it's nearly impossible to eat a restaurant meal without breaking it down in your head and coming up how you would have made it better at home for a fraction of the cost. In short, we become the culinary version of that annoying friend who's unable to sit through an action film without pointing out which explosions, car chases or gun fight scenes are not consistent with what would actually happen in real life. We totally buzz-kill your Applebee's or Olive Garden experience.

Caldo Verde

To spare myself--and my dining companions--that agony, I often choose to cook and eat at home. More so if the cravings call for the sacred, iconic comfort foods of my childhood.

One such meal is Caldo Verde (which best translates as "Green Soup" from Portuguese). This soup is to Portugal what Miso soup is to Japan. If you're dining at a traditional Portuguese restaurant you can expect the Caldo Verde to come with your meal (just like Miso Soup would come with your sushi), whether you planned to order it from the menu or not.

Second only to Bacalhau (salted cod), this humble little soup sits proudly in the hall of fame of dishes that make up the very foundation of traditional Portuguese cuisine. If you are curious about this Caldo Verde thing, keep on reading for the recipe--it's super affordable, easy, and quick to prepare (about 45 total minutes from start to finish, including prep and cooking time).

The Ingredients

Gather and Prep Your Ingredients:

For 6 servings, you will need about 5-6 medium potatoes (peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes), a yellow onion (diced), 3 or 4 minced garlic cloves, a big bunch of collard greens or kale (sliced into thin ribbons), a Kielbasa sausage (sliced, about 1/2 inch thick), plus high quality olive oil and sea salt. For a more authentic (and healthier) version, substitute the kielbasa with Portuguese linguica sausage (harder to find in many cities, unless you're lucky to have a local specialty store that carries Portuguese or Iberian foods).

Roll the greens in order to slice into "ribbons" more easily

Get Cooking: Brown the sausage in olive oil. Once done, remove and set aside in a bowl. This is a single pot meal--and for this I prefer the cast iron enameled type, but any old pot large enough to hold 8 cups of water (plus all the ingredients listed above) will do.

Next, sauté the garlic and onion together with a little extra olive oil until translucent golden. Then, add about 8 cups of water and salt to taste. Add the cubed potatoes now too. Boil gently for about 25 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

PANTRY QUEEN TIP: Use chicken broth instead of water or add meat-flavored bouillon for a more robust broth. My favorite extra ingredient for this recipe is a Goya ham-flavored seasoning packet (or two), which perfectly compliments the porky flavor of the sausage. If your local store doesn't carry Goya products, Knorr beef bouillon is also a good choice for this dish.

My "secret" ingredients for a little extra flavor

Once the potatoes are cooked, it's time to add the sausage previously set aside, but before you do--mash some of the potatoes by hand or, better yet, if you have an electric arm blender, then just give it a few quick pumps to release a little extra broth-thickening starch into the soup before reintroducing the sausage to the mix.

The sausage provides enough protein to this soup to make it worthy of "main course" status at your table

Mash some of the potatoes for thicker broth consistency, but don't go overboard!

Now you're ready to add the greens. If you use the entire standard-size bunch of collard greens found at most grocery stores, it may seem like you're using too much, but don't worry--they will wilt and reduce in volume as they cook. Bring the whole thing back to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes. Boom, you're done.

Collard greens are closest to the traditional recipe which uses a Portuguese variety of winter greens called "Cove", but Kale will work just as well 

Serve drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil and crusty bread with butter. The Portuguese like to add a little glug of red wine vinegar to give it a kick (and the acidity in the vinegar serves to balance the starchy and porky components)--but if that seems too weird, just add some fresh ground pepper or a dash of hot sauce to your taste. Portuguese wine of the "Vinho Verde" denomination pairs beautifully with this soup, as does Spanish Albarino or even a dry sparkling Cava (Brut).

Enjoy--and let me know how it turns out!

The finished product - perfect with crusty bread rolls and a crisp, lively Iberian white wine

For an alternative version, check a similar recipe out at www.epicurious.com