Caldo Verde is a Portuguese soup made from chorizo, potato and collard greens or kale, in a chicken or vegetable broth seasoned with onion, garlic, olive oil and vinegar. The chorizo here is Spanish style chorizo, more like salami, not the tasty chorizo used in tacos. When you lightly brown it first, it imparts so much spicy flavor to the broth. A portion of the broth and potatoes is pureed so you get a thicker soup, and the kale rounds out the richness. You can find Spanish style chorizo sometimes at certain grocery stores, but I often just order it from amazon. It is preserved like salami so doesn’t need to be refrigerated unless you’ve cut it, so it is a perfect thing to order and ship. Here is the one I use:
This is possibly my favorite soup. My kids love it to and request it often. It is great served with some crusty bread or a salad on the side. One of my favorite ways to use up old bread or rolls I have in my freezer is to make lazy garlic bread out of them, so today I used some left over cemita rolls, and french bread I had in my freezer and topped them with cheese and tomato to go on side. Recipe is below.
Soup:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 package Spanish style chorizo
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 2 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch pieces
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3-4 cups water
- 1 package frozen collard greens or kale (or you can use fresh, but wash them really well to make sure there is no sand or dirt)
- 1 tbsp white vinegar (or more to taste)
For this style chorizo, you need to remove the thin membrane on the sausage before you use it. Use a sharp knife and cut sausage into a few large pieces. Make a shallow cut along the side of each. Peel up the protective covering and remove it all. Chop the chorizo into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a stock pot or dutch oven over medium. Add the chopped chorizo and lightly brown for a few minutes. Don’t over brown it or it ruins the flavor. Remove to a paper towel to drain and reserve a tbsp or two of the lovely red fat that has come off.
Add the other tbsp of oil to the pot and cook the onion, garlic, and pepper flaked until softened. Add the broth, water, and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Using an immersion blender, or a regular blender, puree about a cup and half of the potato broth mixture. I just use my immersion blender and blend it up until it starts to thicken. You still want big chunks of potato, so don’t blend it all. I use this immersion blender, and it is so quick and much less effort to clean up than using the regular blender.
Add the collard greens or kale, saved chorizo oil, and the chorizo to the pot and let simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and season for salt, pepper and vinegar. Ladle into bowls and enjoy!
Lazy garlic bread or rolls:
- some leftover bread or rolls
- salted butter
- garlic powder
- salt
- shredded cheese
- tomato (optional)
Cut your rolls in half if using. Toast the bread/rolls in a 350 oven for 5 minutes. Flip them and toast 5 minutes more. Spread on some butter and sprinkle with garlic powder and a little salt. You can serve just like that if you want. Or add on the shredded cheese, and top with tomato, and put under the broiler for a few minutes. This is so surprisingly tasty for how simple it is.
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