Caldo Verde
Caldo verde is a soup from Portugal's Minho region built around two humble ingredients: a starchy potato base and couve galega, a collard-like green sliced into ribbons so thin they read as threads in the bowl. The traditional version gets its richness from a hard drizzle of olive oil and a few coins of chouriço sausage; this one gets it from blending most of the potatoes into the broth, which thickens the soup with starch instead of fat. Smoked paprika stands in for the sausage's smoke. Slice the collards as thin as you can manage: the ribbons are half the point of the dish.
Ingredients
- 1 Yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves Garlic, sliced
- 1 tsp Smoked paprika
- 1 Bay leave
- 1 1/2 lb Potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 tsp no-salt vegetable bouillon
- 1 bunch Collard greens, stemmed, rolled, and sliced into thin ribbons
- 1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, freshly ground
- 1/2 Lemons, juiced
Method
- Sweat the onion and garlic in a large pot with 1/4 cup (60 ml) water over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion turns translucent and starts to stick to the bottom, about 8 minutes. Add water by the tablespoon if the pot dries out before that happens.
- Stir in the smoked paprika and bay leaf and cook for 30 seconds, just until the paprika smells toasted. This blooms its flavor in the pot's moisture instead of in oil.
- Add the potatoes, the bouillon, and 6 cups (1.4 L) water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until a potato cube falls apart when you press it with a fork, 15 to 18 minutes.
- Fish out the bay leaf. Purée about two-thirds of the soup, potatoes and all, until completely smooth, either in a blender in batches or with an immersion blender worked mostly through the pot. Leave the rest chunky. This is what gives caldo verde its body; the traditional soup gets that richness from a hard drizzle of olive oil, this one gets it from potato starch.
- Return the puréed soup to low heat and stir in the collard ribbons. Simmer until they turn bright green and tender but still have a little bite, 4 to 5 minutes. Cooked much longer, they go dull and lose the color the soup is named for.
- Off the heat, stir in the black pepper and lemon juice. Taste before reaching for salt: the smoked paprika, the bouillon, and the potato's own starch usually carry it.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 180 calories, 6 g protein, 7 g fiber, 40 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
