Comments on: Caldo Verde a la Marketman

By: Marketman

Marketman — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:56:34 +0000

deebee, thanks for that, now I know better. :)

By: deebee

deebee — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:16:26 +0000

MM, just a minor correction — caldo verde in english is “green broth”, caldo being broth (in the way we use it in tagalog). to say “hot greens” in Portuguese would be “verduras quente.”

By: ragamuffin girl

ragamuffin girl — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 03:23:05 +0000

I always have this at my fave resto in Macau. It is processed there though and is more like a creamy soup, but delicious nonetheless. Happy CNY!

By: Marketman

Marketman — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:06:51 +0000

Silly lolo, you have been having an attack of the “greens” lately. :) deebee, yes, the slightly orange tinge is from the vast amounts of paprika in the chorizo bilbao. Before I put the chorizo, it was a milky white and somewhat unappetizing color. :) Mike, yes, it does mean green soup, but literally translated “hot greens”… Joyce, if you use another dense sausage, it will probably work. You might want to add a couple of dashes of paprika to add flavor and color. betchay, I could see this working with pechay.

By: Footloose

Footloose — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:19:35 +0000

Sillylolo, I almost ran into the Fuguwi tribe here in Mato Grosso but ended up with the one Claude Levi Strauss lived with in the thirties.

By: rachel

rachel — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:41:36 +0000

this soup is vey similar to olive garden’s zuppa toscana. italian sausage works great, joyce. just take it out of the casing and brown it first.my family loves this soup. i should make some today.thanks mm.i’ll try your version.

By: Connie C

Connie C — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:54:30 +0000

Ha, HA, HA. silly lolo is as hot as MM’s caldo verde….. y caliente! A waker upper this chilly morning west of the Potomac River. I think I will make soup for dinner tonight.

By: silly lolo

silly lolo — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:32:01 +0000

What a coincidence! My Guardian Angel daughter called last night and asked if I would like to try her new found recipe for Caldo Verde.
She is using left over Xmas ham/bone, portuguese sausage from Maui, and Kale for the major greens. Slow cooked beans of some sort and potatoes are in the mix as well. She actually cooked it last nite but preferred to serve it the next day (typical for thick, hearty soups).
Footloose: “Liempo always leads to the loin” (Fugawi Tribal proverb). Oh, and Cindy couldn’t come out to play – her husband was home!

By: deebee

deebee — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:06:15 +0000

congratulations, MM, for this tribute to a well-loved Portuguese fare. i, myself, am not a big fan of caldo verde, but i agree it is comfort food, and now perfect for the wet, gray, cold, and windy weather we’re having these days here in Portugal. just a few comments: you got the essentials right, and overall i would say this is a slightly sophisticated, and more tasty, version. in the original, the potatoes are just thrown into the water to boil and soften. the garlic and onions are even optional (also thrown into the water with the rest, not sauteÃ©d like how you did it and how i do it too). sometimes, leek is added (works works great in these potato-based soups). i put in choriÃ§o twice — first, a few pieces of the choriÃ§o together with the vegetables, for flavour (it’s a no-no here to put Knorr bouillon or something similar), and the second time, as you did, towards the end. i use an immersion blender to puree the vegetables before adding the leaves. also, to make it quintessentially portuguese, olive oil is added just before serving (not while cooking).

i’m curious about the colour of your caldo verde — is the yellow from the ham bone? it does make it look more interesting than the original version — which is dirtyish white (not too appealing, in my view).

By: Mike

Mike — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:57:30 +0000

Excellent dish! Doesn’t it mean “green soup”?