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Last year for my birthday I went to Portugal for the first time. I flew into Lisbon, where I spent a few rainy days wandering around, admiring the tilework, snacking on pastéis de nata and buying gorgeous tins of fish. Then, I took the train north to Porto to meet my friends David and Rafael. Everyone seems to love Lisbon, but I fell hard for Porto: the rocky beaches, the wine, the food.
There’s the famous riot of a sandwich known as Francesinha, a many-layered meat and cheese concoction topped with tomato gravy that is best eaten when hung over. I had to try it, though I preferred the simplicity of the bifana, a sandwich of pork braised in wine and onions.
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One day, for a late lunch, David took me to Casa Guedes on the Praça dos Poveiros. “We’re going to eat my favorite soup in the world,” he said. My expectations were high. When we sat down, he ordered in Portuguese, so I had no idea what was coming. “You’ll see,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.
A little while later, a server brought us two small bowls of a creamy golden broth, marbled with green. David stuck his spoon in and gave the soup a stir. A bright red round of Portuguese chouriço floated to the surface. “See the texture of the broth, see how it’s creamy but runny?” he pointed out. “It’s not fancy, it’s not supposed to be. It’s just comforting.”
Caldo verde is often called Portugal’s national dish. In “My Portugal,” chef and author George Mendes wrote that the soup “defines the culture and the people: warm, soulful, and easy to love.” The dish originated in the north of the country, but is now made all over, with each cook adapting it to his or her tastes. The key ingredients are onions, garlic, potatoes, Portuguese chouriço and couve tronchuda, a type of Portuguese cabbage or kale. The finished soup can be chunky with hunks of potato or it can be smooth.
Mendes prefers creamy Yukon Gold potatoes. Other cooks like the density that russet potatoes offer. I like using a combination of the two, but feel free to experiment with other types, including red or baby potatoes.
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Because it can be difficult to find Portuguese chouriço and kale, I adapted this recipe to honor the spirit of the original. Look for Portuguese chouriço at specialty shops, but if you can’t find it, use any kind of chorizo-flavored sausage. Any type of kale or collard greens will work here, too.
Pay attention to how you cut the kale. “In Portugal, this is called the ‘caldo verde cut,’” Mendes wrote. After stripping away the tough center stem from each leaf, cut the kale into very thin strips, and then cut those into approximately 1-inch pieces. You can also chop the kale and then slice it thinly — the goal is to have thin strips that don’t dangle from the edge of your spoon.
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