Grew up in the south. My dad, who was an avid fisherman, used to call it 'filleting' the collards. :) He'd fold each leaf on itself and run his knife down the 'spine'. Seeing anyone take the spine out of greens always makes me think of him and smile.

J. Kenji's the kind of guy who can include a throwaway story about being on a Food Network game show in a Portuguese soup recipe video.

Both my parents were born on Melgaco, Portugal. My mother would always cook me this soup and 28 years later it’s still my favourite soup, nothing else compares and I thank you for putting this video up, it really took me back!

As Frankie Celenza always says: "As long as you know the rules (of the cuisine) you're allowed to break them."

This soup was surprisingly good. Didn't taste like much when I was tasting it during the simmer, but it really comes together in the bowl. I can see why you say this soup gets better the second day. Also: although the soup is very forgiving, the fine chop on the greens is a must. I did a more rustic cut which led to a more, uh, rustic eating experience.

The music for the traditionalist police is spot on. 😂

Just love how real Kenji is. Such a refreshing change from the uber-perfect world that prevails on KZfaq. Nice messy kitchen where nothing matches and everything is used. Also love the POV angles so you feel you are really doing it yourself.

It so nice to see a recipe from my country here! This is also quite common in Brazil, it is a widely loved recipe. Some people like to add smoked sausages to it as well, so it will cook inside the soup and make it more hearty. The stem can be used as well by slicing it into biteable chunks, lightly frying them and then adding them to the soup for a bit of crunch. This way it goes to nearly zero waste :)

"there are things that can be too big," ... "a chef's knife" *oh thank god*

When he went to scoop up the one potato piece, but then just picked it up. That's my entire life.

That's amazing Kenji, I'm Brazilian and watched it with my mom, who does an amazing Caldo Verde by the way, and she's so happy to see you making a recipe that's part of our culture. Keep the good content

For other curious folks, Kenji is on season 14 episode 3 of GGG as a judge. I can't find yet which episode it was that he was a contestant.

There’s something great about the fact that he says “smash” when he smashes the garlic.

Now I’m frantically searching for clips of kenji on Guy’s grocery games

As a portuguese person i'm used to the small amount of people who make videos on our cuisine to get it wrong. Kenji although you didn't do it traditional, every household had it's own small changes to dishes. You did an amazing caldo verde. Thank you for showing a larger audience the food of my country.

Pronunciation was fine. I tend to find the linguça non-optional, but I also like to add it early to flavor the broth. The disclaimer for traditionalists was hilarious. Thanks for sharing!

"Always take the central stem out of your greens" lest you lose Guy's Groceries Games

You dropped this video just after I received collard greens in the CSA box -- the stars are aligned! Thanks for making these videos, they've made a big impact on my life :D

I like to fry the sausage and render out some of the fat in olive oil, remove sausage, then throw my onions in there. This is one my favourite soups, especially in cold weather. My avozinha made an unreal version.

Kenji! I made this with reasonable expectations. Your description of how flavorful this soup is, understatement. I made this last winter and I’m still thinking about it. It is the best soup recipe ever. Y’all must try this ASAP. Stop doing what you’re doing and go make this. Thanks again Kenji!!!

Can't express my gratitude enough for all the knowledge you put out there through these videos. I've become much better and more adventurous as a cook since finding your channel. Big ups Kenji!

Biggest lesson I've learned from cooking videos: never be shy with the olive oil!

I'm a simple portuguese: i see Caldo Verde in Kenji's channel, i click

I miss your old kitchen. Your new kitchen is nice but the old one just looked like it felt good to cook in.

Love the simplicity of your latest recepies, its like magic.

Hey chef, greetings from Portugal, Caldo Verde yes with chouriço.

Pretty great rendition of the soup, my family does the purist purée method though but I wanna give this a go. Real question is when’s the Francesinha video?

I'm from Brazil and this is my favorite broth. Never thought I would see a recipe here, that's pretty cool. Also, the pronunciation is pretty great too.

Really enjoyed the "Traditionalist police" bits in here. Made me laugh out loud 😂

They may not fit in this recipe, but when stir frying or braising greens I find the stems perfectly edible if removed as shown here, chopped, and sauteed early in the recipe i.e. with your onion or mirepoix or whatever. In fact I often find those bites of the finished dish to be extra delicious. But that's just me! Thanks for the video, and for all your wisdom

Kenji, I just made this. I've never had collard greens. It was absolutely delicious. I think I used too much oil though, but that's my only problem. It tastes so good. I also added some chorizo and it's perfect. Definitely making this for my family when I visit them next.

Hey!! Im a portuguese cook and i just wanted to point out two things. This soup has two main keypoints its texture, given by the greens being cut in chiffonade, and its meaty umami flavor from its chouriço or salpicão flavored broth (never linguiça). As you pointed out we usually start with cold water and cook the potatoes alongside the onion garlic and cured meats and only after blending do we add the greens (a tip is to emulsify the soup with olive oil before adding them). Your recipe looks great but I encourage everyone to try it in a more traditional way to really understand what its all about. But regardless, it made me super happy to ser a portuguese recipe in your channel!!

The POV and layout in the new kitchen is strikingly effective. Loving it!

Pretty much every time I see a strong green like kale or collards in one of these vids, I know exactly which story is going to come up. 💜 you kenji

As a Brazilian, this recipe reminds me greatly of my grandma. I'd strongly recommend adding some sort of linguiça/smoked sausage/chouriço as it gives the soup the extra oomph that it needs.

Thank you Kenji, loving these simple recipes and looking forward to see more.

Can you do a dedicated video on olive oils? According to food wishes Ligurian oil is the one you should use in pesto. I didn't realize there was a whole world of oils out there with different regions, varieties and tastes... Also, a video on new kitchen set up? Possibly house tour or comparison of Bay Area vs PNW including housing situation commentary? Would be super interesting😁

I'm from Portugal and since I was a little kid this was my favourite soup! My nanna would also add some courgette, maybe some leek if she had it on hand 🤠 coriander at the end is also 🥹😍

Bought your cookbook earlier, one of the best I've ever read! A great scientific perspective of cooking.

Having you in the PNW is just the best. You seriously match my moods now!

I am from Brazil and love Caldo Verde, It is my favourite type of soup. I learned from my dad how to make it. The pronunciation is perfect.

Portugal CARALHO! Very well done, Kenji. I'm so happy you did this one! Just one little tiny thing though (couldn't resist): we don't use pre made broth or stock to boil the potatoes and kale; it's literally just water.

What I love about this channel, is that while I'm a pretty experienced home cook, and I've made a version of this soup at least a half-dozen times, I still learn something new, in this case about the effects of different cuts of potato, and different cuts of onion. Also, don't be surprised if the food police show up saying the only green you can actually use is a cabbage called couve galega, not commercially available outside Portugal (if you have a garden, you can apparently cultivate it in temperate zones). I've always made it with kale, and it was fine.

Chef Kenji is incredibly generous with his knowledge and techniques.

You're awesome! I giggled at your "disclaimer." Nice work.

Bro that disclaimer hit me hard wow Still recovering

I made this last week using kale. It was absolutely epic! Thanks.

this made me so happy to see you do a portuguese dish. thank you for the content!

"your cutting board can never be too big..."

Hi, everyone! I'm portuguese First of all, thank you for honoring my country with these videos but I want to give you some tips for a better "caldo verde". We typically use "salpicão" and we normally boil the "salpicão" seperatly and then we remove the meat and put the potatoes, onion and garlic. Once everything is boiled, we put everything in a blender and put everything back on the pot. Then we add the boiled "salpicão" slices and the greens, we put it on low and let it simmer for some minutes and that's it. That way you can have the texture of the greens and the smoked flavor of the "salpicão" Edit: We use no broth whatsoever, at least in the north where I'm from and where "caldo verde" is originally from

Cheers from Brazil! Caldo verde here is a tradicional winter dish! Really nice video Kenji.

What a coincidence, I rarely make this, but I made this just two hours before this was posted. I would have benefited from the tip about not cutting potato slices too thin. I definitely learned something!

I feel honored to see this traditional dish - that we appreciate in june festivities in brazil - in your show. Please, do a feijoada also! World needs to know all of those dishes!

Aw yes, this is my favorite soup. My parents are portuguese (from portugal) and my mom would make this. She would make it with shredded kale and would put slices of portuguese chorizo in it. It's so good

Caldo verde is a Top 5 soup for me. Excited to try this version.

The cheeky additions to the traditionalist police were a great touch!

I need the chilies in there when having that soup. Im happy that more Portuguese food is being shared

The sausage party disclaimer was gold

In the name of Portugal, thank you for spreading the way of the Caldo Verde, big summer staple!

Traditionally, we boil everything except the greens, including a chouriço (gives it a lot of flavour, and makes it a heavier soup). When the potatoes are done, we take out the chouriço and blend everything, then adding the greens to cook. Served with slices of chouriço and some extra virgin olive oil. Not complaining or being the tradition police, your caldo verde looks amazing! (i'd say it's the modern version, i do it that way as well)

I made this following the video. Fantastic!!! This will be a life long addition to the rotation.

For anyone wondering, Kenji is on Season 14 Episode 1 of GGG.

You can eat the stem on kale. I do it all the time, it's fine sauteed or simmered in a soup. Just tastes like kale and has nutrients.

Portuguese man here! It’s my favorite soup and i aprove this video :) And the pronunciation was not bad at all

This recipe's clarification pairs very well with Kacey Musgraves's "Mind Your Own Biscuits."

Had no idea this soup was Portuguese. My family has been making this for years. We refer to it as “the soup.” We put sausage in it and its amazing. Make this, you’ll thank your selves. Oh, make more than what you need. Its greet the next day(s).

I love that rollercoaster ride you gave me in the beginning of the video. It’s those small touches that matter 😘

bless your channel, every recipe i use from you is always 10/10

That disclaimer was amazing. Perfect response

Caralho... Caldo Verde. We do this a lot in Brazil as well. Cheers love your channel!!

the informative musical interludes are on point.

I made this so many times from your older video! You suggested leek in the old one and I tried it. Man that was so good

Chouriço on the top is always the gold, I used to sneak a lot of it to my caldo verde when I was a little kid. Açorda is also very good. I love your channel!

Kenji! love the disclaimer! made me chuckle!

I have a 3 day camping trip this fall. This is definitely on the menu.

Kenji not letting guys grocery games go. HE WILL RETURN!!!

Hi ;) I'm from Portugal! Love your channel, and was surprised to see one of my favorite soups, Caldo Verde, which is one signature dish from my city Porto! Feeling pretty proud of you! Thumbs up! P. S. You should try the Francesinha ;)

I’m loving these videos, they make cooking so approachable, like any of us can do it! And you’re so gracious - doesn’t have to be homemade broth if you don’t have it, thanks!

It's great to see you making dishes from my country !

The frantic cutting vegetables while the burner is going is something I can relate to.

It looks great! All the best wishes from Portugal!

Man, I missed Kenji. He basically saved my quarantine.

I say cutting boards are just like tablespace, your mess grows to fit them lol.

I cooked this tonight and it was very delicious. Thanks Kenji.

Man the tradionalist police segment is top stuff! Great work Kenji!

Great job Kenji. Growing up Portuguese and Mexican, this was one of the comfort foods I grew up on during the cold months, the other comfort food being Albondigas. Could you do an Albondigas episode sometime? In my opinion, it’s one of the best Mexican dishes that a lot of people aren’t aware of.

"Discrete chunks" is the name of my dad-core band.

Hey Kenji, glad to see a portuguese recipe on your channel! A portuguese tip I could give is, on really cold nights, get some 'broa de milho', get some 'linguiça' and make 'caldo verde'. Then, on some clay recipient, put some alcohol and the 'linguiça', and light it up. We usually call it 'linguiça à bombeiro' (firemen's linguiça). And that's dinner. You'll be full for hours. Also, maybe you'd like something like 'francesinha', since you have a lot of bread-y dishes on your channel. Have fun researching! - Filipe

I make Caldo Verde as it's my favourite Portuguese soup. It's true, adding Chorizo adds so much flavour to the soup. You can use Spanish chorizo as they taste exactly the same. Btw, adding the chopped Kale at the end is so much easier to mash the potatoes.

Just made this, it's fantastic and very easy! Thanks Kenji

Had to buy the GGG episode on Amazon! What a great guy!

TIL that you're friends with Nami from JustOneCookbook. Love her channel, glad she could help you out.

Caldo Verde is a common street food in Rio de Janeiro, which is bewildering to me because the winter temperature there is 20ºC

Just legged one with frosted spinach i had. Was amazingly tasty. Thank you!

Although I'd probably still prefer the traditional version, this seems like a good option aswell.

My girlfriend’s family is Portuguese and we cook 50 gallons of caldo verde every February for soup day and cooks for 18 hours. The soup is literally to die for and there’s never any leftovers!

Made this recipe today and added some chorizo. The wife loved it. Thanks Kenji!

Kenji I'm a portuguese fan, you nailed the "Caldo Verde"

Kenji, that disclaimer's brilliant

The stem of hearty greens isn't too tough to eat, it just needs more cooking than the rest, so if it's chopped up and put in before the greens it's usually fine in my experience