Kale soup with potatoes and shiitake mushrooms (vegan caldo verde)
Caldo verde is a comforting Portugese soup made with Portuguese cabbage (very similar to kale). The base is a simple yet satisfying mix of creamy potatoes cooked in a rich, flavorful onion and garlic broth. These rustic, homey flavors bring warmth to every spoonful.
Vegan caldo verde
The authentic recipe of a caldo verde calls for sausages similar to chorizo. But.. I don’t eat pork and fatty meat. And I don’t eat vegan sausages either. Those are usually way to processed for clean eating. So I decided to combine the soup with mushrooms.
Shiitake mushrooms
I used shiitake mushrooms because of their nice firm texture. These mushrooms infuse the soup with aromatic depth, enhancing its overall flavor profile.
I seasoned the mushrooms with fresh garlic, paprika powder, a bit of chili flakes, cumin seeds and coriander seeds to resemble the chorizo taste.
Frying in olive oil
You start preparing a caldo verde by frying onions and garlic in extra virgin olive oil. But if you eat fatfree, you can ‘bake’ them Medical Medium style: with just some water.
The same goes for the mushrooms. I like to bake them separately in olive oil and add them to the soup when it’s done. But if you don’t want to use any oil, you can cook them in a little bit of water. Or just add them directly to the soup, toghether with the kale.
Adjustments for AIP Paleo
Unfortunately, for AIP you have to skip all the spices. They consist of seeds and nightshades. But you can use some green Mediterranean herbs instead. Especially sage en rosemary go very well with kale.
Kale soup with potatoes and shiitake mushrooms (vegan caldo verde)
This recipe may contain
affiliate linksEquipment
- soup pan
- ceramic non-stick pan
- garlic press
- knife
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 cups potato diced (300 grams)
- 2 large handfuls kale
- 2 yellow onions
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 cups water extra if needed
- 2 tbsp mushroom powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Mushrooms
- 1½ cup shiitake mushrooms
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp paprika powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoons ground cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoons chili flakes
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For fatfree Medical Medium
Instructions
- Dice the onion and fry in a bit of olive oil until translucent.
- Press the garlic and add.
- Wash and dice the potatoes. You can leave the skin on if it looks nice. Otherwise peel the potatoes. Add.
- Keep stirring while the potatoes brown a bit.
- Skip all of the above steps if you cook without oil. Just bake the onions and garlic in a bit of water. And add the potatoes.
- Poor the water over the potatoes and add the mushroom powder and bay leaves.
- Let simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on.
- Remove the bay leaves and puree the potatoes. But not completely: leave some small chunks.
- Wash and cut the kale. Add and cook for another 5 minutes
Mushrooms
- In the meantime cut he shiitake: a bit larger than bite size pieces because they will shrink when cooked. Some shiitake are so small you don't need to cut them at all.
- Fry the mushrooms in the frying pan in oil. Or with just a bit of water if you cook oilfree.
- When they have browned a bit: press the garlic and add.
- Add the spices.
- Cook until they have shrunk and have a nice brown colour.
- Add the mushrooms to the soup when it's ready to serve.
Did you make this soup or do you have any questions? Just leave a comment!
I do have a question! This looks delicious and I would love to make it. I love the taste of regular potatoes over sweet potatos, but I thought regular potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant (nightshades) were good to avoid on auto-immune diet.
Hi Elizabeth, thank you for your question, I think many will have the same. Nightshades indeed are often avoided on Auto Immune diets and paleo in general. And I did avoid them for years. Recently I transitioned into the Medical Medium diet, where especially potatoes, tomatoes and peppers are healing foods. And I am thriving. So the only thing I can say is that, for me, avoiding them didn’t bring anything. But this recipe is indeed not AIP paleo and is therefore also not categorised as such. It’s only MM and vegan. I think the only ting that we all can really do is see what a certain diet dies for us, eg by keeping a food and symptoms journal.
Thank you so much for your reply!
You’re very welcome, love Marjolein