Caldo verde in thirty minutes

Serious Eats made this brisk little film about caldo verde, the potato, kale and chouriço soup that turns up at every Portuguese wedding, street festa and late-night café. In two minutes it covers the lot: simmer the potatoes, blend them smooth, add greens shredded as fine as thread, and finish with good olive oil.

There’s no chatter and no fuss, which suits a soup that mostly asks for patience and a sharp knife.

Why I keep rewatching it

I made caldo verde for the first cold Sunday of the year and wrote it up in Sunday Letter: the first cold morning. This film is the reason I finally learned to roll the kale leaves into a cigar before slicing. It’s also the reason my version is now quicker than Dona Fernanda’s, though I would never tell her that. Whenever a recipe feels daunting, I watch this and remember that most good food takes about two minutes to explain.