Caldo Verde Recipe

Caldo Verde is one of the best known dishes in Portugal. It's a great choice on a cold day or if you're feeling a little "under the weather." Caldo Verde is an extremely therapeutic mixture containing garlic, onions, chicken broth, and a lot of vitamin-packed and anti-oxidant rich kale.

Recommended Equipment:
Dutch Oven or large soup pot

Ingredients:
1/2 pound chorizo or linguica sausage, chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, diced
1 tspn + 1 pinchsea salt
1 1/2 tspn pepper
2 tspn vinegar
4 cloves garlic
5 1/2 cups chicken broth (1 32oz. box)
1 bunch of kale or collard greens
5 medium red-skin potatoes, quatered

Preparation:

1. Heat olive oil in pot over medium heat.
2. Add the sausage and stir until it is lightly browned, about 4 minutes.
3. Remove sausage from pot and set it aside in a paper-towel lined bowl.
4. Pour all but about a table spoon of the remaining oil from the sausage into another bowl and save for later.
5. Add the onions to the pot over medium heat along with a pinch of sea salt and stir frequently until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).
6. Add garlic and cook for about a minute.
7. Add chicken broth and potatoes and increase heat to medium high.
8. Put cover on pot and cook for about 7 minutes so that potatoes are soft.
9. Mash about half of the potatoes against the bottom or sides of the pot and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
10. Cut out and discard the tough center stems of the kale or collard greens. Dice up the leaves and add them to the pot along with the sausage.
11. Stir and simmer for 5 more minutes.
12. Add 1 teaspoons of sea salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, and 2 teaspoons of vinegar to the pot and stir.
13. Pour Caldo Verde into bowls and drizzle a little of the reserved oil from the sausage into the bowl before serving.

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Portugal [ print this recipe ]