Caldo Verde: Portuguese Collard Soup
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 6
 
This soup is slightly creamy from the puree of potatoes and onions but is totally dairy free. It makes a nice, light opening to a meal but can also be served as a main course alongside some salad, olives and additional sliced chouriço.
Ingredients
  • 600g white or yellow flesh potatoes
  • 1 medium sized onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 200g collard greens (1-2 bunches depending on the size), stems removed
  • ½ Portuguese chouriço, cut into thin slices
  • Sea salt & pepper to taste
  • High quality olive oil
Instructions
  1. Peel the potatoes and chop them into medium sized chunks. Drop them into a soup pot filled with 1.5L of water.
  2. Peel the onions and chop those into medium sized chunks. Drop the onions into the pot with the potatoes and water. Peel the garlic cloves and drop those in whole.
  3. Place pot on high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, season with 1 heaping tbsp of salt. Allow to boil until potatoes are soft, approximately 20 minutes.
  4. While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the collard greens. Finely chop the collard greens as explained above in the post. Aim for super fine. Place the shredded collards into a steamer basket and rinse them with cold water. Set aside.
  5. Fill another medium pot with 2" of water and place the steamer basket with the collards inside. Bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, cover the pot and steam the greens for 1 minute.
  6. Once the greens are soft but still bright green, remove the steamer basket and run very cold water over the greens to "shock" them. Allow to drain.
  7. Once the potatoes are soft, turn off the heat and use a hand blender to puree the potatoes until you have a smooth, creamy broth. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.
  8. Turn the heat to medium and add the collard greens to the broth stirring frequently. Allow the soup to boil and cook the collards for about 10 minutes or until soft.
  9. Taste the soup again and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
  10. Ladle the soup into bowls and add 3-4 slices of chouriço to each bowl of soup. Drizzle with olive oil and enjoy!
Recipe by Marilene Caetano at https://www.marilenecaetano.com/caldo-verde-portuguese-collard-soup/