Portuguese Caldo Verde – Sausage, Potato and Greens Soup
February 23, 2014
Margaux says…
A soup similar to this was posted by a bunch of people on Pinterest recently, which I made and liked a lot. Then Aunt Suzy emailed me this recipe, which was very similar but looked better. Instead of using cream to make it a creamy soup, you puree some of the potatoes, which I like better. I waited a few weeks to try this one out so that we didn’t over do the potato-greens-sausage soup around here, and I’m so glad I got around to making this! It is fantastic…blows the other soup out of the soup pot. Ha! And my husband, Jason, raved about it as well, claiming it to have the “best broth ever.” He’s really good about complimenting my cooking, but this was more emotion than he usually shows about food. So I put this one in the “win” column and will be definitely making it again!
I think that you can switch out different kinds of greens/sausage/potatoes to suit your likes. I made it with spicy Italian sausage because that’s what I had on hand, instead of the chorizo. Next time I’ll make it with the chorizo probably, but the spicy Italian was still good. I prefer Yukon gold potatoes, but russet would be fine, too. And as for the greens, I would stick with tougher, bitter greens like collard, or any type of kale. I don’t think spinach or chard would hold up as well. The main thing that made this soup stand out to me was the process of taking out part of the potatoes and pureeing them to make the broth thick and creamy.
Aunt Suzy says..
As Margaux mentioned, our initial foray into the greens/potato/sausage soup arena was a recipe we saw on Pinterest that we both made exactly according to the recipe, me with chicken and Margaux with pork sausage. Then my guy Randy shared this recipe with us from Cook’s Illustrated, which we tried shortly thereafter. I’ve made the Pinterest one with regular kale and unpeeled russets and another time with Lacinato kale, unpeeled Yukon Golds and fully cooked Italian sausage from Trader Joe’s. And then I’ve made this recipe exactly as specified. All are really good, but I think this one is the winner. Pureeing some of the potatoes with olive oil creates an emulsion that makes for a very silky texture without dairy. Today, I’ve made one of our favorite stews, and Randy asked me if it included sausage – hehe, guess we’ve had enough sausage around here for a while.
Caldo Verde
adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
Ingredients
¼ cup EV olive oil
12 ounces Spanish-style chorizo sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (fully cooked, not fresh Mexican)
1 medium onion, chopped fine
4 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more to taste
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
4 cups chicken stock or broth
4 cups water
1 pound collard greens, stemmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar, optional
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer chorizo to bowl and set aside. Reduce heat to medium and add onion. Cook for a few minutes till translucent. Add the garlic, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Cook, stirring frequently, another 3 minutes. Add potatoes, broth, and water; increase heat to high and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until potatoes are just tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Remove 3/4 cup solids and 3/4 cup broth to a bowl or measuring cup. Set aside. Add collard greens to pot and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in chorizo and continue to simmer until greens are tender, 8 to 10 minutes longer.
Add 2-3 tablespoons olive oil to solids/broth mixture that was set aside. Place in blender jar (or use immersion blender) and process until very smooth and emulsified, about 1 minute. Remove pot from heat and stir pureed soup mixture and vinegar, if using, into soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve. (Soup can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
Cook’s Notes: If you live near a Whole Foods, Amylu Chicken Chorizo in a 9-ounce package works really well with this and the 9-ounces seemed like enough. You can try with or without the vinegar. AS didn’t use it and Margaux did.
Main Dish Spanish Rice
July 10, 2012
Aunt Suzy says . . .
This dish was inspired by a recipe in Sheila Lukin’s All Around the World Cookbook. It was a somewhat typical recipe for the Mexican dish we know as Spanish Rice, with Chorizo and an abundance of tomatoes added. I thought it would be even better with lots of vegetables and started building my recipe from there. I make a vegetarian version of this just as often as I make the recipe with Chorizo – instructions and ingredients for both are included. I thought to make this because we had an open bottle of Spanish Rioja, which turned out to be an excellent match. A Mexican beer – light or dark – goes really well also. I often serve this with orange and avocado salad as it complements the richness of the dish. I made a watermelon-cucumber salad yesterday, which also was a refreshing companion. In addition to use as a main dish, this can be served as a side to grilled fish/meat or tamales.
Please note this makes a mega amount (8-10 servings), so the recipe can be easily halved, although leftovers at a later date are delicious.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white or yellow onion, small dice
1 large or 2 medium carrots, small dice
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 Spanish-style Chorizo sausages, fully cooked, split lengthwise and sliced in half-moons (omit for vegetarian)
1/2-1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, rinsed and diced, use for vegetarian
2 cups long-grain brown rice
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
3 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth (water for vegetarian)
1 summer squash (yellow or zucchini), diced
2 cups green beans, ends trimmed and snapped in half
1-2 cans black beans, use for vegetarian
3/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Drain the tomatoes, using a strainer over a quart measuring cup. Add enough chicken stock or water to the strained liquid to measure 3 1/2 cups. You may not use all 3 cups of stock/water. Set aside the liquid and the drained tomatoes.
Steam or simmer the green beans to desired doneness. I like just past tender crisp for this dish. Drain and set aside.
Heat a large saute pan on medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Once shimmering, add the onion and carrots. Turn down heat to medium and saute for about 5 minutes.
Add the garlic and Chorizo and saute for 2-3 more minutes. For vegetarian, add the garlic and the chipotle pepper. Next add the rice and saute for another 4 or so minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the tomatoes, the 3 1/2 cups of liquid and the diced summer squash. Bring to a bubble, then turn down heat and simmer, covered, until done, 50-60 minutes.
When liquid is fully absorbed, remove from heat and let rest for 10 minutes. Stir to combine ingredients, then stir in the green beans, black beans if using, and any other vegetables you are using. Let sit for a few minutes to heat up these last additions. Finally, stir in the cilantro or parsley or pass these for garnish at the table.
NOTES ON INGREDIENTS: I do not salt and pepper this dish due to the high salt content of many of the ingredients. I find it plenty flavorful without either, but add according to your taste. When making the meat version, I like to use AmyLu’s Chicken Chorizo, but I have used pork Chorizo and both chicken and pork Andouille sausage in this dish. Make sure you are using fully cooked vs. fresh Mexican Chorizo sausage. The original recipe called for white rice, but once I started using brown rice the dish with white paled in comparison :-). I’ve been thinking this would be nice with 2 cups of diced fresh tomatoes during season (vs. the canned), but haven’t tried it. Other vegetables can be added such as green peas or corn, and I think this would be good with thinly sliced radishes and avocado as garnish. Lots of options!
Eggs for Dinner
May 16, 2010
Aunt Suzy says . . .
Margaux and I have been emailing back and forth lately about how we have noticed a focus on eggs for dinner in the food blogs we follow and the magazines we get. It’s been quite amazing how many things we’ve seen in the past couple of weeks, including a page on my Page-A-Day wine calendar about what wines pair well with dinner-style egg dishes! We both agree that we love eggs for dinner, so we took advantage of my visit to Chicago to make this delicious Spanish Tortilla. We also were trying to think of things we could make with Preserved Lemon when I remembered this great Moroccan tomato salad. It tasted really good with the tortilla!
Margaux says . . . Ironically, I’d been making eggs for lunch and dinner for a few weeks before we even started talking about it. Its really easy, and I know Desi will eat it. So when we started going back and forth about it, I thought, “wow, everyone has eggs on the brain!” It must be a seasonal favorite. 
Aunt Suzy says . . .
A note about the Chorizo: this recipe uses Spanish-style Chorizo which is smoked vs. Mexican-style Chorizo which is fresh. Since authentic Spanish Chorizo costs a pretty penny, I have always used the chicken Chorizo sold in places like Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. This time we used TJ’s chicken Andouille, which is a good substitute.
Asparagus and Chorizo “Tortilla” (like a frittata)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 ounces thin asparagus, tough ends discarded, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 ounces Spanish chorizo, cut into ¼-inch dice
8 eggs
1 cup grated Manchego cheese
¼ cup chopped parsley, divided (optional)
Pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a 10-inch skillet with sloping sides over medium high heat. (The best for this is either a non-stick or a cast iron like Le Creuset). When oil is hot, add asparagus and chorizo and cook, stirring, until asparagus pieces are just tender and chorizo is slightly browned, about 4-5 minutes. Remove asparagus and chorizo from the skillet and set aside. Remove skillet from heat, wipe with a paper towel and set aside.
Whisk eggs, ½ teaspoon salt, black pepper to taste and the cayenne pepper to blend. Stir in cheese and 2 tablespoons of parsley.
Place remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in the skillet and set on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, pour half the egg mixture into the pan. Cook about a minute, tilting the pan and loosening the edges with a spatula. Sprinkle the asparagus and chorizo over the eggs and then pour in the remaining egg mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook the eggs, continuously loosening the edges with a spatula and tilting the pan to let the uncooked egg mixture run under the cooked part. Cook until the underside is golden and set but the egg mixture on top is slightly liquid, about 5 minutes.
Transfer the skillet to the center rack of the oven. Bake until top is set, about 4-5 minutes. Watch carefully so it doesn’t overcook. If the eggs on top are not done at this point, you can turn the broiler on and broil the top for 2-3 minutes.
Remove skillet from the oven and let rest for a minute. Using a spatula, carefully loosen the tortilla from the pan and slide it onto a serving plate. (The tortilla will be half to ¾-inch thick.) Garnish with remaining parsley. Serve warm or at room temperature cut into wedges.
Moroccan Tomato Salad with Preserved Lemon
Salad
4-6 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or seeded and diced fresh tomatoes
½ medium red onion, diced
½ cup cilantro, stems removed and chopped
½ cup parsley, stems removed and chopped
½ preserved lemon, diced (pulp removed and discarded)
Dressing
3 Tablespoons fruity olive oil
2-3 Tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon ground cumin
Juice of one clove garlic (use garlic press to squeeze the juice and discard the pulp)
1 teaspoon paprika
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Mix all dressing ingredients thoroughly and pour over salad. Let marinate for 30 minutes. Serve as is or over a bed of lettuce on a platter.
Sweet & Savory Kitchens 