Our daughter loves to leave her greens on her plate, and we (almost as much) love trying to come up with ways of reincorporating them into her next meal. We blend them into batter with other leftover vegetables to make rainbow pancakes; or finely chop, saute and add cream, to make creamed greens; or add them to soups and stews such as today’s classic Portuguese soup that’s traditionally made with cabbage, potatoes and often chorizo. Mine is a vegetarian version that we used to serve at Poco in Bristol and that our daughter will wolf down quite happily. At the restaurant, we’d add celeriac and sea lettuce as well as potato, to give the soup some extra umami; you could also add leftover cooked meat such as shredded roast chicken, sliced ham or sausage. Once made, the soup will keep for four to five days in the fridge.
Caldo verde
This comforting soup works well with either leftover cooked potatoes, greens (rainbow chard, kale, cabbage or spring greens) and meat, or with uncooked veg (I used rainbow chard, which gives the soup a warming, yellow colour). It’s hard to imagine that such a humble dish could be so satisfying, yet somehow the combination of greens and potatoes, cooked and blended until creamy, is utterly delicious.
The addition of celeriac, washed but unpeeled, with the potatoes is optional, but does add another dimension of flavour. With the exception of the very rooty end, which is best trimmed and composted, celeriac skin is completely edible and will tenderise and turn delicious and palatable with a little cooking (or finely grated, if using it in a salad).
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Serves 2-4
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
½ onion (60g), roughly sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
240g raw or cooked skin-on potatoes and (optional) celeriac, cut into 1-2cm cubes
1 pinch sea lettuce (optional)
200g raw or cooked greens (rainbow chard, kale, cabbage, spring greens, etc), finely shredded
1 big handful parsley, finely chopped, finer stalks included
Salt and black pepper
Put the oil, onion, garlic, potatoes and celeriac (if using) in a medium-sized heavy-based pan and add 500ml just-boiled water. Bring back to a boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and leave to cook for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Blitz the soup until half of it is blended but you still have plenty of intact cubes of potato and celeriac, then stir in the sea lettuce (if using), greens and parsley, and simmer for five to 10 minutes more, until soft. Season generously, or to taste, ladle into bowls and serve with a good drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil.
