Portuguese Caldo Verde | Soup from Portugal

The basic traditional ingredients for caldo verde are potatoes, collard greens (although kale may be substituted), olive oil and salt. Additionally garlic or onion may be added. I substituted spinach in place of collard greens or Kale (both of which are either sparse or unavailable in India). The resultant soup was a light broth and went well with toasted French Bread and oven grilled sweet potato. Addition of cherry tomatoes (though not in the original recipe) added a dash of tang to the otherwise slightly bland soup. As I was making this for the elder girl, I didn't add too many green chilies but I think that would upped the spice factor manifold.

Either way, we all enjoyed it with a dash of white pepper powder. Do make it for those autumnal or winter suppers and dont forget to use Vegetable stock (instead of water) - it tastes delicious. This is one soup that just doesn't disappoint...

Portugal is a unitary semi-presidential republic. It is located in South-Western Europe, on the Iberian Peninsula, and it is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, being bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. Aside from continental Portugal, the Portuguese Republic holds sovereignty over the Atlantic archipelagos of Azores and Madeira, which are autonomous regions of Portugal. The country is named after its second largest city, Porto, whose name derives from Latin "Portus" and Celtic "Cale". So, today we are in Portugal as part of our 30 day World Blogging Marathon. 

Portuguese cuisine is diverse. The Portuguese consume a lot of dry cod (bacalhau in Portuguese), for which there are hundreds of recipes. There are more than enough bacalhau dishes for each day of the year. Two other popular fish recipes are grilled sardines andcaldeirada, a potato-based stew that can be made from several types of fish. (source : Wiki)

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Country : Portugal 

Dish : Caldo Verde (Greens Soup)

Spice level : Low to Medium

Serving suggestions : Toasted French Bread and oven grilled sweet potato

Prep time : 10 mins | Cook time : 15 mins | Serves : 2

Adapted from Jamie Oliver's recipe

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Ingredients:

• Spinach (or Kale / Collard greens) - packed - 1 cup
• Vegetable stock - 2 cups
• Onions - 1 medium
• Garlic - 2 pods
• Green chillies - 1 (minced fine)
• Olive Oil - 1 TBSP
• Cherry tomatoes - a handful (optional)**
• Potato - 1 no
• Salt - to taste
• White pepper powder - 1/2 tsp**

Method:

1. In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Saute onions and garlic for 2 mins. Now add the spinach and wilt it a bit (about 2 -3 mins). Now add the cherry tomatoes, salt and let the tomatoes sweat a bit.
2. Now add the peeled and cubed potatoes and saute for 4-6 mins. Once a little softened, add the vegetable stock, cover and simmer for 8-10 mins till potatoes are cooked and turn a bit mushy. Press one or two pieces to give it a little volume to the broth.
3. Switch off the flame, and finish with pepper powder.
4. Serve hot wit croutons or toasted bread.

**You may also use sundried tomatoes to give it an added punch and tarty taste. You can make this without tomatoes too. Add 1/2 tsp of lemon juice instead, but that too is totally optional. If you are serving this to adults, you might want to crank up the spice a little more and/ or use more green chillies too while sauteeing the onions 

Lets check what the others have dished out today...

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