Caldo verde

This is my take on a traditional Portuguese soup Caldo verde, which translates as a ‘green soup’. As it’s a traditional recipe, it doesn’t require any special ingredients, and is quite simple to make. I used ‘Cavlo nero’ kale which is a type of green cabbage with lots of flavour and nutrition. You can use any greens you have by hand- kale, chard, spinach, spring greens, nettles, wild garlic, etc. You can use vegetable or meat based stock, or you can try making this chickpea stock with tumeric which gives a soup nice flavour and colour. You can also just use water instead, but make sure to add enough seasoning to get the flavours right.

Traditionally Caldo verde would have some chorizo or other type of meat in it. I ‘faked’ the flavour of chorizo by adding spices that replicate its flavour, such as salt, black pepper and most importantly, sweet paprika which gives the soup a smoky flavour.

Ingredients

1 finely diced onion

2 garlic cloves finely diced

salt

black pepper, ground

1 tsp sweet paprika

3 cups of chickpea stock ( veg stock or water)

3-4 poatoes

a bunch of leafy greens

Peel and roughly chop potatoes. Finely dice onions and garlic. Start by frying the onion in a bit of oil. Add garlic, and fry it for under 1 minute, be careful not to burn. Mix in seasonig and spices and fry them for a bit to release the flavours and aromas. Add stock, and potatoes. Cook it till potatoes are soft. Mash it or blend it with a hand blender. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more salt and paper if needed. Add finely chopped leafy greens and let it wilt for a couple of minutes. Done!