Portuguese · Soup · Easy
Caldo Verde
Portugal's national soup: silky potato broth with ribbon-thin collard greens and smoky chouriço, finished with olive oil.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Caldo Verde, in 5 ideas
- Slice the collards paper-thin; thick ribbons turn chewy
- Yukon Golds blend into the silkiest texture
- The soup should be green-flecked, not green; the potato base dominates
- A thread of good olive oil at the end is traditional and transformative
- Even better the next day
What you need
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups water or light chicken broth
- 1 bunch collard greens, stems removed
- 1/2 lb chouriço or linguiça, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for serving
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
How to make it
Directions
- Simmer the potatoes, onion, and garlic in the water or broth until completely tender, about 20 minutes.
- Blend until completely smooth and silky.
- Roll the collard leaves tightly and slice into the thinnest ribbons you can manage.
- Stir the greens into the hot soup and simmer 5 minutes until tender but still bright green.
- Brown the chouriço slices in a dry pan until crisp at the edges.
- Serve the soup with chouriço on top and a generous thread of olive oil.
Money saver. Collard greens are among the cheapest greens at the store; a huge bunch costs almost nothing.