Radish Green Soup

If you’ve ever been to Portugal, you know that a meal without a soup just isn’t possible. Even the Portuguese McDonald’s serves soup, I’ve been told. And there’s a fast-food chain serving only soups!

The inspiration for this soup comes from the most famous Portuguese soup, caldo verde. But instead of Portuguese kale, traditionally used in this soup, I opted for radish greens – a part of radishes I wasn’t used to eat! But they actually taste better than the actual radishes, if you ask me. They have a pleasant, nutty taste, and can be used fresh in a salad as well.

If you’re a meat eater, feel free to add a couple of slices of choriço per portion. Instead, I added some Backerbsen, or traditional German soup pearls.

For 4 portions, served as a starter:

•  200g leek


• 2 garlic cloves


• 450g potatoes


• the greens of 2 radish bunches


• olive oil


• salt and pepper to taste


• Backerbsen, if available


• water or vegetable broth, about 1 liter, divided

First, peel the potatoes and cut into cubes. Wash the leek and chop it. Peel and slice the garlic. Heat olive oil in a saucepot, add potatoes and leek and fry over a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and let fry a 1-2 minutes. Then add water or broth to amply cover the vegetables, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and let simmer over a low heat until potatoes are tender, or some 20 minutes. Puree with a hand mixer.

In the meantime, prepare the radish greens. Wash them thoroughly and chop, using a knife or scissors. Boil about 300ml water or broth in a smaller pan. Add 2 pinches of salt (not needed if using broth) and the radish greens. Let cook until the leaves are cooked but still somewhat crunchy. It goes quite quickly!

To serve, divide the pureed soup onto four soup plates. Then divide the radish greens on the plates – with a bit of their cooking water, especially if the soup is very thick! Then sprinkle some olive oil, salt, and pepper – and Backerbsen, if available. Enjoy with a slice of good bread – and good conscience!

P.S. Unfortunately, one needs to peel the potatoes to make this soup. But instead of throwing them away, you could deep-fry them in oil, sprinkle with some salt, and serve as chips! Remember to use organically grown potatoes and wash them well.