Origin: Portugal
Type: Soup
Main Flavours: Potatoes, kale, chorizo (optional)
About Caldo Verde
Caldo Verde is a quintessential Portuguese soup that embodies comfort with every spoonful. Made with a base of hearty potatoes and nourishing kale, the soup is often simmered alongside or topped with slices of a traditional Portuguese sausage like chouriço or linguiça to add a rich, smoky flavour. It is usually served with crusty bread, and can be eaten as a main course or as a starter to a Portuguese feast.
Click here for our Caldo Verde recipe!
What Zsófi Says About Caldo Verde:
Caldo Verde, literally meaning Green Broth, is a Portuguese Green Soup originating from the Minho region in the north of Portugal. Despite its humble ingredients, it has become one of the most celebrated dishes in Portugal and beyond. Its name comes from its primary ingredient and colour-giver, couve-galega or Galician kale, a leafy green that is then chopped into thin slices and added to a broth of potatoes, onions, and garlic. It’s a simple, earthy dish, which can be prepared using ingredients you can find in your kitchen even after days of not seeing the supermarket. Its beauty lies in precisely this, its humble deliciousness that feels just as in place at the family table or at festivities as at high-end restaurants.
My obligatory note for vegans: Caldo Verde is often served with traditional Portuguese sausages like chouriço or linguiça, but if you make sure that these are taken off, you’ve got a wonderfully delicious and real authentic vegan Portuguese soup on your hands.
Read Zsófi’s full article on soups from around the world here!
Caldo Verde Recipe
Caldo Verde Ingredients
4 medium potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
1 bunch of kale, stems removed, finely chopped
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Slices of chouriço or linguiça (optional)
Crusty bread to serve (optional)
Caldo Verde Instructions
Heat the olive oil over a medium heat in a large, deep pan. Add the chopped onion and garlic, and saute until soft (around 5-10 minutes).
Add the sliced potatoes to the pot and stir to combine with the other ingredients, then cook for another five minutes to allow the potatoes to fully brown.
Pour over the broth, and make sure that the potatoes are fully submerged. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and cover to let it simmer until the potatoes are cooked (around 15-20 minutes).
Once the potatoes are cooked through, use a blender or potato masher to blend the soup. Optionally, you can leave some of the potatoes out to add texture to the finished soup.
Return to the pot and add the finely chopped kale, and let it simmer in the soup until it’s wilted.
Season the caldo verde with salt and pepper to taste.
If using, add the sliced chouriço or linguiça sausage to the soup just before serving, allowing it to heat through in the hot broth.
Serve the caldo verde hot with a drizzle of olive oil and a side of crusty bread.