I first came across this nourishing national dish when exploring north Portugal on the back of a motor bike. We were on a tight budget, so cooked this soup often on our camp stove.

Every village market had a stall heaped with dark green leaves of couve galega (collard greens) – an open, flat-leaved cabbage that’s not dissimilar in texture and flavour to spring greens or kale. Behind this stall a woman was cutting the leaves into fine strands using a hand-operated shredder, ready to cook.

How do UK cooks make a reasonably authentic version of this traditional poor man’s soup?  Answer: with kale. So here’s my own version, with thanks to food writers Jamie Oliver and Nigel Slater. For advice on how to make a proper Portuguese caldo verde, go to Azelia’s Kitchen.

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 or 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced
1 litre water or stock
300g red Russian kale or Tuscan kale (cavolo nero) or spring greens, finely shredded
150g chorizo or spicy sausage, sliced (optional)
black pepper

Method
Cook a finely chopped onion and clove of garlic in a little olive oil for 2 minutes. Add 3 or 4 large potatoes, peeled and diced, cook them for a minute or two, then pour in a litre of water or stock. Simmer for 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft then crush them gently.

Meanwhile prepare the kale. Cut out the stalks and roll the leaves up tightly like a cigar before cutting them into wafer-thin strips. Thickly slice the chorizo or spicy sausage.,

Stir the kale into the soup and simmer for barely five minutes. Fry the sausage briefly in a nonstick pan. Remove it, leaving the fat behind, and drop it into the hot soup. Serve immediately with a small pool of olive oil floating on the surface.

All Camel CSA members have a large Jack o’ Lantern pumpkin in their vegetable box. We’ll be carving lots more into lanterns at this Sunday’s apple juicing event – 10am-3pm on our community veg-growing plot.

Both small and standard boxes have: –
* pumpkin (Camel CSA)
* red Russian or black Tuscan (cavalo nero) kale (Camel CSA)
* flat-leaved parsley (Camel CSA)
* cucumber (Camel CSA)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* small bag tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* small mixed salad bag (Camel CSA)**
potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes have in addition: –
* radishes (Camel CSA)
* green pepper (Camel CSA)
* calabrese (Camel CSA)

* grown to organic principles
** salad bag – lettuce, mibuna, mizuma, baby leaf beet, rocket

This recipe from Riverford Organic Farms is a beautiful combination of flavours and texures. We’ll be using the radicchio and mixed salad leaves in Camel CSA’s weekly boxes with Cornish blue cheese, English pears and Cornish sea salt.

Serves: 4
Preparation/cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 head radicchio, tough core removed, leaves shredded
100g mixed salad leaves, or shredded lettuce leaves
small knob of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 pears, cored + sliced
150g walnut pieces
2 tbsp clear honey
splash balsamic vinegar
sea salt + black pepper
200g stilton, crumbled
extra virgin olive oil to finish

Method
Mix the radicchio and salad leaves together in a large bowl. In a large frying pan, heat the butter and oil. Add the pears. Cook on a reasonably high heat until the pears have softened and turned golden brown.

Add the walnuts, honey and a good splash of balsamic vinegar. Season well with salt and pepper. Stir gently to combine, remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Add a tablespoon or two more of good olive oil. Pour the pears into the salad leaves and lightly toss to combine.

Either serve on one large platter, sprinkled with the stilton, or on individual plates. Drizzle over a little more olive oil to serve.

• Try Sarah Raven’s Radicchio and lemon pasta

All Camel CSA members have a head of homegrown radicchio in their box this week. Radicchio belongs to the chicory family, hence its slightly bitter taste and why it’s often lightly cooked. All boxes contain: –

* radicchio (Camel CSA)
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* turnips (Camel CSA)
* black Tuscan (cavalo nero) or red Russian kale (Camel CSA)
* onions (Camel CSA)
cauliflower  (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
* cucumber (Camel CSA)
* green pepper (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad (Camel CSA)**

* grown to organic principles
** salad bag – lettuce, mibuna, mizuma, baby leaf beet, rocket

The tomatoes and peppers are still going strong, but we’re having to dig out the basil. The recent cooler, intensely humid weather in Cornwall is encouraging powdery mildew, which can spread quickly in the polytunnels. So it’s got to come out. Oriental pak choi is going in instead for winter salads and stir-fries.

Small and standard boxes have: –
*tomatoes (Camel CSA)
*mixed salad (Camel CSA)**
*turnips (Camel CSA)
*cucumber (Camel CSA)
*sweetcorn (Camel CSA)
*red curly or red Russian kale (Camel CSA)
potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra potatoes
*calabrese (Camel CSA)
*aubergine (Camel CSA)
*basil (Camel CSA)
*peppers (Camel CSA)

*grown to organic principles
** salad bag – lettuce, mibuna, mizuma, baby leaf beet, rocket

It’s a bit of a lottery this week as Camel CSA box members randomly get one of three broccoli varieties grown on our site in Cornwall. Both small and standard boxes have:-

* calabrese or sprouting or tenderstem broccoli (Camel CSA)
* sweetcorn (Camel CSA)
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* cucumbers (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* red Russian or red curly kale (Camel CSA)
* potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes also get extra potatoes plus:
* aubergines (Camel CSA)
* spring onions (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA) **

* = grown to organic principles
** salad bag – lettuce, mibuna, mizuma, baby leaf beet, rocket

The bountiful autumn harvest continues! Both small and standard boxes have: –

* sweetcorn (Camel CSA)
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* curly or black Tuscan kale/cavalo nero (Camel CSA)
* basil (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA) **
* bunched turnips (Camel CSA)
* potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes also have extra potatoes plus:
* aubergines (Camel CSA)
* peppers (Camel CSA)
* cucumbers (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles
** salad bag – lettuce, mibuna, mizuma, baby leaf beet, rocket

Camel CSA’s kale harvest is about a month early this year. Both small and standard boxes have: –
* red Russian or black Tuscan kale (Camel CSA)
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* cucumbers (Camel CSA / Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* flat-leaved parsley (Camel CSA)
* salad bag (Camel CSA) **
* runner beans (Camel CSA / Mark Norman)
* potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes also have extra potatoes plus:
* green peppers (Camel CSA)
* courgettes (Mark Norman)
* radishes (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles
** salad bag – lettuce, mibuna, mizuma, baby leaf beet, rocket

Camel CSA’s growing skills don’t quite extend to melons, but there are some beautiful ones on sale at the moment at The Vine in Wadebridge. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in The Guardian suggests partnering them with cucumbers and courgettes in this side dish. Luckily we’ve got plenty of those.

He says: “All that delicate, juicy flesh is pointed up beautifully by the assertive flavours of olives and onion.”

Serves: 4
Preparation time: 5-10 minutes

Ingredients
½ large cucumber (about 200g)
1 medium courgette (about 200g)
¼ small charentais or galia melon (about 200g)
50g pitted black olives, such as kalamata
½ medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
Juice of ½ small lemon
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Quarter the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and slice into thin quarter-moons about 2mm thick. Put the slices in a large bowl. Top and tail the courgette, quarter it lengthways and cut into pieces the same thickness as the cucumber. Add to the bowl.

Scoop the seeds out of the melon. Carefully slice the melon off its skin, then cut it first lengthways into two to three slender wedges, then crosswise, as with the cucumber and courgette, and add to the bowl.

Roughly chop the olives and add to the salad with the onion. Squeeze over the lemon juice, trickle over the oil, give it a good seasoning and stir together gently. Taste, add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed, and serve straight away.

What an amazing selection of freshly-picked herbs and vegetables! Small and standard boxes have: –
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* cucumber (Camel CSA)
* basil bag (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA) **
* Swiss chard (Camel CSA / Mark Norman, Bodmin)
* onions (Camel CSA)
* potatoes (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)

Standard boxes also have extra potatoes plus:
* red Russian kale (Camel CSA)
* sweetcorn (Camel CSA)
* courgettes (Mark Norman)
* aubergines (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles
** salad bag – mixed lettuce, mibuna, mizuma, baby leaf beet, rocket

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