I absolutely love caldo verde. It is such a warm and cozy soup that is perfect for fall. The slightly spiced chorizo, shredded kale and hearty potatoes were a hit with my daughter, which makes it an immediate yes for me. It’s also packed with an array of delicious flavors and textures — truly an ideal comfort-food recipe.

My first exposure to it was a few years ago during my first round of Whole30, and we have included it in our fall soup rotation ever since. It is safe to say that my family also fell in love with this version, taken from The Seattle Times archives.

In terms of personal modifications, I added a little extra salt and lemon juice to brighten up the flavors upon serving. However, I would definitely salt it to taste, since chorizo can be a bit salty, but every brand is different. I also used ground chorizo that I tore off into little meatballs, versus buying a chorizo that I could slice. I also swapped around the order of how I made the recipe a bit. I tried to keep it in one pot, and wanted to blend the flavors as much as possible.

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Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Servings: 8

Original recipe

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped finely
• 1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
• 6 large white potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2½ cups water
• 2 cups chicken broth
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ½ pound chorizo or garlic sausage, thinly sliced
• ¾ pound kale, washed, trimmed of stems and chopped finely

Recipe adjustments

• Swap: thinly slicing potatoes for dicing them
• Swap: thinly slicing chorizo for ground chorizo broken off into ½-tablespoon-sized pieces
• Add: ½ teaspoon salt, ½ tablespoon lemon juice

Original recipe

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, sauteing until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, and saute 3 minutes.
2. Add water, broth, salt and pepper, and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes, until the potatoes start to break up and thicken the soup.
3. While the soup is cooking, saute sausage until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Stir into the soup with the kale; simmer for 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings, and serve.

Adjusted recipe

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chorizo, and saute until browned, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the pan, and set aside. Add salt, pepper, onion and garlic, sauteing until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in potatoes, and saute another 3 minutes.
2. Add water and broth, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes start to break up and thicken the soup, about 20 minutes. Optional: Slightly crush the potatoes with a potato masher once softened.
3. Stir chorizo and kale into the soup; simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings, and serve.

Enjoy!