Passport & Plate - Caldo Verde
Portugal | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
300g kale (or cavolo nero,) or dark cabbage finely shredded
50ml olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
700g potatoes, diced
150g chorizo, sliced
½ t-spoon Paprika
1.2 litres of water or Vegetable stock
salt
pepper
How to prepare this recipe1. Roll up the kale leaves tightly like a cigar (cut out the thick stems first) before cutting them into thin strips as they do in Portugal. ?
2. Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat and fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Stir in the potatoes, season with salt, and cook for a further 5 minutes.
3. Add 1.2 litres of water or stock and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
4. Mash the potatoes into the liquid to produce a smooth purée. Then add the shredded kale and simmer for 10 minutes. ?
5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the chorizo slices, sprinkling paprika over them in the pan, for 3–4 minutes.
6. Add the chorizo to the soup and ladle the soup into bowls and season with freshly ground black pepper.
7. In this recipe, serve it with Pao au chorizo like I had in Lisbon
The story behind this recipeThis hearty regional soup is just so Portuguese and reminds me of when I drifted off the beaten track into the very small village of Capuchos, not far from Lisbon across the river Tagus.
I have explored Portugal from top to bottom a couple of times and most recently in 2014 when I spent 3 weeks exploring the South and Lisbon area. This time we went across the river to the wonderful coast along the Costa da Caparica.
I discovered Capuchos on a walk alone up the hills to check out the view from a 16th century convent. I was soon drawn to a noisy busy lunchtime buzz of a local café in the sleepy little village there. I often have a cooks nose for these places, full to the brim of locals just like the steaming bowls of a delicious smelling soup they were devouring as well as whole platters of grilled fresh seafood. I can still smell those aromas now!
The local guy invited me in, with a welcoming smile and I immediately declared that I’d be back! I know a good thing when I see or smell one!
So I returned for dinner (and for many lunches there after!) presenting myself there in the evening with my wife and a food loving Italian friend in tow. No menu, no bill, just lashings of hospitality, local red wine, sangria and the most delicious array of fresh seafood we had ever devoured.
The starter was a traditional soup found all over Portugal, called Caldo Verde, a local cabbage and potato speciality served with grilled slices of a Chorizo like sausage on top, and sometimes with fresh bread baked with chorizo in the middle.
We declared it all as the best feast we have ever tasted, not in a top restaurant I must remind you, but off the beaten track in a sleepy little village. I have now mastered that recipe and teach it at my cooking classes in Australia. The guests prepare and eat it with great gusto! However, as tasty as it is, our version does not have quite the same flavour as the one we devoured in Portugal but nor should it ever be, because like all travel experiences, one has to go there to explore and taste the original yourself!
