Portuguese Caldo Verde

One of my favorite things to eat for breakfast when I was a kid was Eggo waffles with peanut butter and syrup.

I would slather the peanut butter on the golden, crispy waffles so it filled almost every hole. You’d get a mouthful or peanut butter in every bite that way. Drizzle a bunch of syrup on top and you have my most favorite breakfast item on the planet.

I really, really wanted to eat that this morning.

I woke up, started to make my coffee, and then a butter knife in the sink sparked my memory of the peanut butter waffles for some reason. After that, the craving was on. I had to shush my inner demon and tell him no—I can’t eat waffles (or syrup!) on the keto diet! It was an almost losing battle until I got some coffee inside of me.

There are a lot of things I miss on the keto diet, but sugar cravings probably rule them all. It’s hard giving up all of those sweet things. You’ve got to have a lot of will power to tackle this diet, that’s for sure.

After I down a few cups of coffee, I’ll have lunch instead of breakfast. Today’s lunch is soup. It’s cold, dreary, and soggy outside; perfect soup weather.

I found this recipe online and in several international cookbooks that I have. Traditional Caldo Verde contains a lot of curly kale and linguica, a hard sausage (like salame or summer sausage) that’s native to Portugal and Brazil. I couldn’t find any linguica, but I did find chorizo. It wasn’t the hard version, unfortunately, so it disappeared a bit while making the soup. I recommend getting a hard version of chorizo so you can cut it into slices.

Caldo verde also usually has potatoes in it, so I threw in turnips as a substitute. I love a good turnip, and although it isn’t anything like a potato, it curbs that craving when I need it.

This soup will hit the spot today. Is it peanut butter waffles? No. But it’s healthy, filling, and just as good a way to start my day.

P.S.: Caldo verde doesn’t usually have mushrooms in it, but I had some that I needed to use up, so…in they went. Feel free to leave them out if you want!

Enjoy!

Step-By-Step Instructions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 3-4 minutes.

Stir in chorizo, garlic, and smoked paprika. Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes.

Pour in sherry and let simmer for a few minutes. Add turnips, kale, chicken broth, mushrooms, salt and pepper. Let mixture come to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Stir in lemon zest before serving.