Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup) with sausages, potatoes, and kale in an onion and garlic infused broth. It is a hearty and very flavorful soup.
There are always fun food events happening on the internet and Portugal Day is one of them. Occasionally, I will join in the fun but I was hesitant about this one because I knew very little about Portuguese food. However, this Italian Kale and Potato Soup, similar to Caldo Verde, had piqued my interest and was on my to-do list. To kill two birds with one stone and to join the aforementioned event, I figured that I should attempt the latter.
Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)
Caldo Verde, a.k.a Portuguese Green Soup has lots of bright green kale in it, hence the name. It is a hearty soup chock full of kale, linguica (Portuguese smoke cured pork sausage), and potatoes. I search the internet for a recipe and came across this one. Since I could not find linguica or chorizo, I had to use Polish sausage together with some of the spices found in linguica as a make up. I am glad I did because the spices gave the soup a real oomph!
I have to say this Caldo Verde turned out really well. It was hearty, yet light, and super tasty. The family loved it. Without a doubt, it will be joining other favorite soups in the Ro-Ri household.
Similar Tools Used in Making This Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.
• Le Creuset Signature Enameled Cast-Iron 5-Quart Oval French (Dutch) Oven
• Pyrex Prepware 1-Cup Measuring Cup
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and some extra for serving
- 1 large yellow onion (chopped)
- 6 oz linguica / chorizo or your choice of sausage, sliced into thin disks (170g)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
- 4 medium potatoes (peeled and thinly sliced)
- 6 cups chicken stock or water (1.5 liters)
- Salt to taste
- 1 bunch kale (12 oz/340g)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil and some extra for serving
INSTRUCTIONS
- Heat olive oil in a large pot. Fry onions and sausages for 2 minutes. Add garlic, pepper, oregano, paprika, cumin, and potatoes. Continue to fry for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Pour in water or chicken stock. When soup comes to a boil, add salt, reduce heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are very soft.
- Scoop out about 2 cups of potatoes and mashed well. Return mashed potatoes to the pot. Add kale and continue to let soup simmer for another 5 minutes. Do not overcook kale. It should be bright green and slightly crunchy.
- Serve in individual bowls drizzled with extra virgin olive oil if desired.
NUTRITION
NOTE: This post was updated on December 16th, 2012 with new pictures. No changes were made to the write-up or recipe.
Enjoy…..and have a wonderful day! 😎
Wow! This does look wonderful! We're heading back to the market tomorrow and will pick up more fresh kale to try this wone.
Thanks for the inspiration! We love the soup!
hellllllllllo there! found you on foodbuzz! 🙂 your page is lovely! feel free to drop by my page when you have the time! thanks a bunch.
jen @ ” target=”_blank”>http://www.passion4food.ca
A super delicious soup! I would love to try this, love the sausages here!
Wonderful soup Biren. Denise has a really good Caldo Verde in her cookbook.
Cheers!
A very delicious soup! With some bread, this would make a lovely dinner.
Unfortunately I have not seen her cookbook. Hope to take a peek real soon 🙂
Thanks so much for the shout out Biren! The award is well earned; your blog is fabulous!
This soup looks so good! It sort of reminds me of italian wedding soup which is an absolute favorite of mine.
You are most welcomed Julie. Thanks for passing it to me 🙂
You will have to cook this Italian wedding soup and post it.
Biren, looks delicious. I could go for a bowl right now! I'm in LA but my office is always cold so I always have my space heater on (even at this moment!)
My goodness Roxan…you poor thing! A heater at this time of the year!
This soup will surely warm you up.
BTW I hope you will check out this post http://rotinrice.blogspot.com/2010/05/colorado-co…. You may enjoy sandboarding in the summer at the Sand Dunes.
This other post has a link to your blog http://rotinrice.blogspot.com/2010/05/sweet-barle….
Man that soup looks fabulous. My mother made a similar "Italian" version. Oh boy I have to try this! We just moved my Dad in with us and he loves soup 🙂
It's a good way to use Kale Biren. I didn't know about Portugal and Kale are relevant. Thanks for the info.
I can slurp the whole bowl myself 'coz Seattle is still cold!
Hi Biren, this looks good. I love soup. I don't mind eating them for breakfast.
Hi dear, the soup looks mouthwatering! 😀
I celebrated my 1st Blogoversary yesterday…so pls feel free to accept a Thank You card from me ya! 😉
I love caldo verde and your version more than does it justice. This looks amazing and I know it will taste fantastic!
I love those flavors and I know that soup must be delicious. I have started to use more kale and dark greens in cooking. They are so good for you. Great recipe!
This is probably a dish close to your heart. I would have love to use the linguica but trying to get it at the local stores in the suburb is a long shot. As I had not tasted the soup before, I was just going by feel and description of the dish. I am glad I added the spices and the soup was really tasty. I will have to cook a little more the next time as the family loved it. I will definitely be making it again.
I read that some white beans may be added at the end. That will be great for the colder months. Do you think that is a good idea?
I make a soup like this with chicken sausage and I know it's good!
A healthy soup to be sure. How did you like the soup and the texture of the kale? I've not had kale before so I'm interested…was it like cooked spinach?
It is a much firmer vegetable than spinach. After cooking for 5 minutes, it was still bright green in color and had a slight crunchiness left. I was surprised at how good it tasted. I want to say that the texture is like that of cooked or stir fried savoy cabbage. I would definitely cook it again as the family loved it. It would be a great soup to have even in the colder months.
Beautiful! That's a lovely comfort food to life us up. Happy weekend 🙂
The first time I tried caldo verde was in Macau (where there is Portuguese food). I will try making a home version like yours as it looks so delicious. I like kale and discovered this dark green veg quite recently.
Being brought up eating a lot of Asian dishes and Asian veggies, I have to say I have never tried kale before. I never really noticed it until I started reading food blogs. It is such a beautiful vegetable and I never really knew what to do with it other than salad, but I am not a big salad fan so this recipe really helps. Thank you for sharing Biren.
I love kale! I love sausage! And thus. By process of elimination. I would love this dish! Thanks for sharing!
New follower in the house! I'm so intrigued by kale. I've always thought of it as a garnish but I see this soup popping up everywhere. I think it's a sign. I must need to try it…
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma, What's For Dinner ” target=”_blank”>http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
This sounds interesting and looks good! Hope can find kale here.
Hi Alex, thanks for visiting and following! It's beautiful as a garmish and even better cooked this way. Really yummy!
This sounds great and nutritious also. Lots of good ingredients and it's a wonderful way with sausage!
Delicious and nutritious. Can't beat that combination!
Bookmarked. I've seen something like this in one of my cookbooks. Looks delicious.
This soup looks delicious and chorizo is one of my favorite food ever!!! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Green is my favorite color. This may be my favorite soup.
A very lovely soup. This would be most welcoming on a cold day.
I was going to make something like that if I joined the event. Had no time at all. So glad that you made it 🙂
We use to have this soup when we vacationed in Provincetown. I haven't made it in years. Your post and recipe made me remember just how good it is. Thanks for the reminder and the recipe. I hope you are having a wonderful day. Blessings…Mary
This looks lovely, Biren. I think caldos are the best types of soups-so wholesome and comforting they are! By the way, isn't kale good? And it's really just as easy to cook as any green. I think so at least…
What a healthy and scrumptious soup!
I always see kale around too but have never thought of cooking it. This sounds really comforting!
What a delicious looking soup! I love chorizo!
I adore Portuguese soups & yours with the kale, chorizo and potatoes is a win win! Great flavors and so very hearty 🙂
Ciao, Devaki @ weavethousandflavors
Happy Blog Anniversary! Thanks for the card 🙂
I was surprised at how good the kale tasted. It is rather stiff and waxy before being cooked but has a nice texture after being cooked. I will be cooking this soup again. It is really good.
Hi Devaki! Thanks for visiting. This is my first time cooking the soup and it won't be my last. The family loves it.
Made a slightly tweeked version of this last night–less oil, more broth, "hot" chorizo, a little low-fat buttermilk instead of mashing the potatoes, smoked Spanish paprika. Loved it! Smokey, a little spicy, the heartiness of the kale! Would you mind if I posted about it, linking back to you?
Scott
Wow…that sounds awesome! Mashing the potatoes and adding the buttermilk is a great idea. It will make such a rich and thick soup. It is good to reduce the oil. The original recipe calls for a quarter cup oil but I only use 2 tablespoons. Please go right ahead and thanks for linking back 🙂
Hi there, Portugal Day Buddy–your soup looks wonderful. I love linguica, and really love kale…perfect!
Hey, thanks so much for stopping by 🙂 This soup is delicious! First time making it and it won't be my last.
I love seeing the way you went from one blog to another. I do the same thing; one post takes me to another, then another until I’m lost and realize how much I’ve enjoyed traveling. It fantastic.
The soup looks outstanding. I’m in the heart of “greens” country and kale is definitely something that’s popular around here. I’ll give this soup a try on your recommendation.
I’m definitely going to make this as soon as possible! It looks like a great soup for a chilly night, especially if you are feeling under the weather!