Caldo Verde literally means “Green Broth” in Portuguese and is traditionally made with kale, potatoes, sausage, and sometimes onion and garlic. Every week, I make one meal for myself to have as a back-up meal to eat throughout the week for either breakfast, lunch (yes, I do actually eat soup and other lunch and dinner food for breakfast), or dinner.
This week, I made Caldo Verde after having it in my cafeteria at work. Because of my Crohn’s disease, Kale sometimes bothers my stomach so I tend to stay away from it in a raw form. Cooking it naturally breaks down many of the fibers, so I don’t have a problem with it after it’s cooked. After looking through a bunch of recipes, here’s what I put together:
Ingredients
1 lb turkey sausage, casings removed
3 potatoes, cut into one-inch cubes with skins on
1 bunch kale, tough stems removed and sliced into thin strips
1 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes flavored with basil, onion, and garlic (I always buy the flavored because who doesn’t need more flavor?!)
8-9 cups low sodium chicken broth
Couple dashes of paprika
Pepper to taste
Directions:
Remove the sausage from the casing and brown it in a pan. Drain if needed. Move to a bowl. Chop onion and garlic and sauté in 1 Tb olive oil about 5 minutes until onions start to get translucent. Add 1 can diced tomatoes, paprika, potatoes, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer about 10-15 minutes to soften potatoes. Add kale and sausage and simmer another 5 minutes. Serve in bowls and eat within 4 days or freeze.
Soup is great for any time of year. It’s light, filling, and my office is always cold, so it works even in the summer. This was really quick, too. It’s also gluten free and dairy-free.
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