The Portuguese were the main influencers in Brazil, so even thou I learn this recipe from a Brazilian friend, was explain to me that it came from Portugal. It is why, if you came to visit my web site yesterday the clue in the music was Fadu playing, that is a Portuguese type of music.
But this recipe is the way my Brazilian friend does it in Brazil, and now this is how I do it for clean eat. So today I will play a Brazilian song I love. Hope you enjoy the delicious smoke flavors and the warmth that this dish brings to a winter day!
Caldo Verde is a Portuguese soup made with potatoes, collard greens, sliced chorizo or linguiça (smoked Portuguese sausage) and olive oil. It originated in the north of Portugal. It is also so popular in Brazil that most people don’t even remember that it is originally a Portuguese soup. I find this soup to be very satisfying, because of the sausage and potatoes, so I’m good with just a bowl and a slice of bread for dinner! Yum! However, as much as I love the sausage in this for its portion of protein and the smokey flavor, normally I will omit and use lentil`s for protein and paprika for smoking the soup instead so I can make it clean and vegan. But today I will make it both ways, so you can have a choice and still be a healthy clean eating dish. We will add a tiny bit of smoke turkey bacon at almost the end of this dish and some small amount of turkey sausage instead of the chorizo. Still we will keep the lentils because is just a small quantity of meat, just to make it a little hearty and smoky for those who prefer to see a little bit of meat. If you want to keep it vegan, follow the recipe as is and just omit the entrance of the turkey bits. I have to warn you, before any native Portuguese gets mad at me, that the traditional "Caldo Verde" doesn’t call for bacon or lentils. And the real chorizo sausage recipe is to die for! But I can't find it here in O.C. and this is was a very good alternative for the flavors and calories and still in the vegan version, we can get the smoky flavors from the paprika too.
Ingredients
2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled 1 onion, peeled and quartered 3 cloves of garlic, minced ½ cup olive oil plus more for serving 8 small patties turkey sausage quartered 1 bunch collard greens, thoroughly washed (I add some spinach to the mix) 1 cup of green lentils (Use 2, If you will make it vegan for a dish full of protein) 4 slices smoke turkey bacon, roughly chopped 8 cups organic chicken (or vegetable) broth, low sodium
1 teaspoon of paprika Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Start by cutting the collard greens. Just stack three leaves at a time and roll them like cigars. Cut them crosswise into very thin strips. Proceed with the rest of the leaves until all the collard greens are done. Reserve.
In a heavy bottomed pot, add the peeled potatoes, the quartered onion, the minced cloves of garlic, the lentils and the olive oil with the chicken broth. Bring it to a boil over high heat and then lower the heat to medium low and cook until the potatoes and lentils are tender.
Mash some of the potatoes and bring them back to the pot.
Add the collard greens, stir, and keep cooking for 1 hour or more, untils it thicks a little .
And that is all if you want it vegan.
For those who wants the meat:
In a large skillet, fry the bacon and the sausage until the bacon is browned.
Add the bacon/sausage mixture to the soup and cook until the soup boils again.
for both versions:
Season with salt and pepper.
Serve hot with extra olive oil and bread to dip.
