A Taste of My Portuguese Heritage
When it comes to comfort foods I think that each of us have that one particular dish that just really soothes you and makes you feel at home. Growing up in a Portuguese family there are many homemade meals I simply love, many that I still need to learn to cook myself! But the one thing that I will always love is soup! There are so many wonderful Portuguese soups (sopas) that I enjoyed growing up. Until this day one of the many reasons I love visiting my grandmother is for the chance to eat her delicious homemade soups! It’s hard for me to pick a favourite, so today I will share with you the most popular Portuguese soup, Caldo Verde. Traditionally made with collard greens, potatoes, onions and chourico (Portuguese sausage), it is a very simple yet very tasty soup to make.
This sample of the recipe from Tia Maria’s Blog for the Portuguese Foodie is just like my family makes it (minus the bay leaf. And we use more garlic!) This recipe makes a really large batch, but this soup keeps well and leftovers are just as yummy as when the soup is freshly made. If you want to make a smaller batch you can half the recipe.
Photo credit: Tia Maria's Blog for the Portuguese Foodie
INGREDIENTS
10 russet potatoes (peeled & cut into 1 inch slices) 2 large onions 2 cloves garlic 1 large bay leaf 1/4 cup olive oil (or more to taste) 1 tbsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 whole medium chourico (Portuguese) sausage (rinsed and dried) 6 cups of washed collard greens (sliced very thin) 6 cups chicken or (vegetable broth for vegetarians) 6 cups water
DIRECTIONS
In large soup stock pot, place water, broth, potatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, and bay leaf. Cook on high for 20 – 30 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked.
Remove from heat, remove bay leaf and puree the soup with hand blender until it turns into a creamy like base. If you find the soup is too thick, add a little boiling water.
Place the pot on medium heat and add the chourico sausage. Cook for about 10 minutes. You may cook chourico in separate pan in boiling water if you don’t want a smokiness taste in the soup.
Remove choucico and slice into 1/4 inch slices and set aside for garnish.
Add the collard greens and cook on medium heat for about 5 – 10 minutes depending on your preference.
When ready to serve the soup add 3 slices of chourico into each bowl for garnish. Add a drizzle of olive oil, and crushed pepper to taste.
Add more chourico if you prefer of course! Enjoy!
