Caldo verde is a popular soup in Portugal.Credit:iStock
Plate up
Here’s a thing you probably didn’t know:Portugal has its own vegetable,a leafy green called couve galega,occasionally translated to “Portuguese kale”. The name is confusing because this vegetable isn’t kale at all,but something more closely related to collard greens,although couve galega is slightly different again to the leafy staple you find in American cooking.
Couve galega is its own vegetable,an absolute necessity in Portuguese cooking and rarely seen outside the country. It’s a vital ingredient in one of Portugal’s best-loved dishes,caldo verde,a hearty green soup made with water or stock,potatoes that break down and thicken the broth,thin-sliced couve galega,hunks of chourico sausage and glugs of olive oil on top. Good for what ails you.
First serve
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There’s a clue to the origin of this dish in the name of its essential ingredient – the vegetable couve galega. Galega refers to Galicia in north-western Spanish,and Galicia borders the Minho region of Portugal and shares many of its cultural traits.
So it’s no surprise to find that caldo verde originated in the Minho region,probably in the agricultural areas around the city of Braga. Historians believe this all came together in the mid-15th century when a hearty soup was created from the ingredients that were abundant at the time.