''Caldo verde'' (, Portuguese for "green broth") is a popular

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot – though it is sometimes served chilled – made by cooking or otherwise combining meat or vegetables with Stock (food), stock, milk, or water. According to ''The Oxford Compan ...

Portuguese cuisine Portuguese cuisine () consists of the traditions and practices of cooking in Portugal. The oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine, entitled ''Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal'', from the 16th century, describes many popular dish ...

. The basic traditional ingredients for ''caldo verde'' are julienned collard greens or ''couve-galega'' (essentially a type of collard green), (or alternatively other leafy greens such as kale or mustard greens), potatoes,

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, black pepper and salt, mainly flavoured with onion and garlic. Some regional recipes favour slight variations, like turnip greens or added meat, such as ham hock, making it similar to Italo-American wedding soup. Traditionally, the soup is accompanied by slices of paio, '' chouriço'' or '' linguiça'' (boiled whole with the potatoes, then sliced and added to the finished soup when serving) and with a Portuguese cornbread or rye bread called '' broa'' on the side for dipping. In Brazil, the soup is accompanied by Pão francês, similarly to virtually all kinds of soups. In Portugal, caldo verde is typically consumed during events such as

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s, birthdays and popular celebrations. It is sometimes consumed before a main course or as a late supper. It is traditionally served in earthenware bowls called ''tigela''.

History

''Caldo verde'' originated from the Minho Province in northern Portugal, based on an earlier recipe brought to Portugal by English merchants. Today, it is a traditional favourite nationwide and abroad, particularly in significant communities of Portuguese descent found in locations like

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, and

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. References to the soup appear in many novels by Camilo Castelo Branco. In 2011, following the result of a public vote, the soup was announced as one of Portugal's Seven Wonders of Gastronomy, highlighting both its popularity and heritage in Portugal. In neighboring Galicia (historically and culturally close to Portugal) a similar dish, caldo galego is also a culinary tradition.

References

{{Portuguese cuisine Portuguese soups Brazilian soups Vegetable soups Macanese cuisine Brassica oleracea dishes Potato dishes

History

See also

References