Caldo Verde is a classic, big hug in a bowl Portuguese soup. The soup is traditionally made with potatoes, Portuguese chouriço or linguiça sausage, and finely shredded collard greens or kale. Me being me, and the holidays being inundated with leftovers, I have come up with a twist to this Portuguese national dish. Leftover roasted holiday turkey and the raw cauliflower from your mom’s veggies and meat appetizer platter, were the perfect combinations to create this new version of Caldo Verde. Roasting the cauliflower with the smoked paprika and cumin adds a wonderful level of flavor. Along with the cannellini beans, the cauliflower pureed together gives the soup the velvety mouth feel that the potatoes traditionally do and it’s marvelous.
Ingredients
- 1 pound (about 2 cups) leftover turkey, chopped
- 8–10 ounces chorizo or kielbasa sausage, sliced
- 2 quarts (8 cups) unsalted chicken or turkey broth
- extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound raw cauliflower florets
- 15½ ounce can Cannellini Beans, drained
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 bunch fresh mustard greens, shredded (or 2 cups leftover cooked greens)
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
- ½ cup cilantro, rough chopped
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 large lemon, juiced
- kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 400°. Toss the fresh cauliflower with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, smoked paprika, and ground cumin. Pour out onto a sheet pan. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes until tender. Remove and set aside. In a small skillet lightly oiled, brown the sliced sausage on both sides. Remove, cool, and dice. In a heavy bottom soup pot, add a few “glugs” of olive oil and heat. Add the diced onion and saute to tender. Add in the chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook slowly for three minutes. To the pot add the roasted cauliflower, drained cannellini beans, and chicken stock. Bring the soup to a boil then down to a slow simmer. Cook for 20 minutes covered. With a hand blender, puree the contents of the soup until smooth. If using a food processor, pull out all the solids with a slotted spoon and process until smooth. Add back to the broth and keep simmering on low. To the soup add the diced leftover turkey, diced sausage, cilantro, and shredded (or cooked) mustard greens. Simmer for 15 minutes. Pour in the fresh lemon juice and mix. Season with salt and fresh black pepper to taste.
