Growing up I was exposed to the Mediterranean Diet, a way of eating that is filled with fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Lately, probably because of the cooler weather, I’ve been thinking about a traditional Portuguese soup called Caldo Verde that is absolutely delicious. It uses collard greens and potatoes, which grow abundantly in that part of the world. I checked on the nutritional properties of these green veggies and I must say that I’m impressed. Collard greens are quite the food! They are among the richest in nutritive elements, filled with vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, fiber, calcium, and folate. It’s a power food! Being part of the cruciferous family, collard greens can also help prevent several forms of cancer. One cup of boiled collard greens contain 62 calories and 8 grams of fiber.
I decided that instead of keeping this goodness all to myself, I would share the recipe of this simple and delicious soup.
Now just so you know, I like to use creativity in the kitchen more than I like to follow a recipe. This version doesn’t have any sausage and I didn’t add any olive oil in the end, because I think it takes away from the wonderful flavors of the soup as is. If you prefer, add half a tea spoon of extra-virgin olive oil to the soup in the end.
So here it is, Caldo Verde a la Moi for 2 people.
2 potatoes
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
Bunch of collard greens cut in Julienne (thin strips)
Water
Salt
Boil the water and salt. Add the potatoes, onion, and garlic and cook until very tender. Puree all with a hand blender and return to the stove. Add the collard greens and cook until they are cooked thoroughly, being careful to stir the soup once in a while.
And voila! Caldo Verde a la Moi. Very, very good, and packed with rich nutrition.
We added alphabet letters to make it a little more fun (kid friendly), and ate the soup while saying the name of birds with each letter we found.
Enjoy!
