Caldo Verde

It's hard to contain myself sometimes. It really is.

Soup is my favorite food. Almost every single meal that I have fond childhood memories is soup. Every ailment, from tummy trouble to cold and flu to emotional stress is nicely remedied by a piping hot bowl of soul warming soup. You can clean out your fridge with it, visit different cultures with it, feed a crowd with it, and so on and so forth.

I have always paid attention to food, the flavors, textures, simplicity of fueling and nourishing our bodies with taste bud tantalizing ingredients. Several years ago, I delightfully discovered kale. Ever since, I've made it a point to seek out recipes using the amazing nutrient dense green. I stumbled upon a recipe called Caldo Verde and have been making it for years. In my pre-vege days, I added some nice locally made garlic sausage, but now I happily make it without. It is hearty and satisfying, and my kids and hubby have always loved it, usually leaving very little for leftovers. Fine with me!

I have simplified this recipe into a quick and easy meal that can take as little as 30 minutes to cook, from start to finish. The good thing is the ingredients are readily available and you probably have most of them on hand.

Whip up a pot of this amazing soup and enjoy!

 

Caldo Verde

 

1 onion, chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

4-5 medium potatoes, peeled and 1/2-3/4" diced (I usually use one small-med potato per person eating)

1 bunch kale, stemmed and torn into bite sized pieces

1 quart vegetable stock plus 1 quart water

salt and pepper

1 T olive oil, omit if you are oil free, and sub a bit of water or stock

 

In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat up oil (or water or stock) and sautee onions till translucent, adding garlic about 3 minutes in. Add potatoes, stock, and water. Bring to a simmer and cook till potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Using a potato masher, mash in about 3/4 of the potatoes. this will thicken the broth but still leave some chunks to chew on. Add kale and cook an additional 5 minutes, more if you like the kale cooked a bit more. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Voila! Perfect for a blustery winter day.