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Açorda alentejana
Alentejo bread soup: pounded garlic and coriander, boiling broth and a poached egg
Açorda à alentejana is the shepherd's supper of the Alentejo, the wide, hot plain of cork oaks and wheat fields south of Lisbon. It is barely cooked at all: raw garlic, salt and a big handful of fresh coriander are pounded to a paste in the bowl, sliced day-old bread goes on top, and boiling water poured over turns it all into a fragrant, green broth, crowned with a soft poached egg. Unlike Spain's sopa de ajo, nothing is fried and there is no paprika; the flavour is fresh herbs, sharp garlic and fruity olive oil. Alentejanos eat it at home in summer and winter alike, and in Évora's tascas in the evening, sometimes with a few olives or a slice of fresh cheese. Chef's tip: use firm, dense, two-day-old country bread; soft sandwich bread collapses into mush the moment the water hits it.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the broth
To finish
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 4 cloves garlic and 1 tsp coarse sea salt in a mortar (or the bottom of a large serving bowl) and pound to a coarse paste. Add 1 bunch fresh coriander and 4 sprigs fresh pennyroyal (poejo) or mint and keep pounding until bruised and dark green, then stir in ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil.
4 minStep 2: Bring 5 cups water to a full boil in a wide pan. Taste a drop of it seasoned with a pinch of salt; it should taste lightly salty, like a broth.
5 minStep 3: Lower the heat so the water barely shivers and add 1 tbsp white wine vinegar. Crack 4 eggs one at a time into a cup and slide them into the water. Poach until the whites are set and opaque but the yolks still wobble.
3 minStep 4: Meanwhile, scrape the herb paste into a large tureen or divide it among four deep bowls and lay 9 oz dense day-old country bread over it.
Step 5: Lift the eggs out with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Turn the heat back up and, as soon as the water boils again, pour it over the bread. The common mistake is using water that has cooled down: it must be boiling so the garlic and herbs release their scent and the bread softens all the way through.
Step 6: Leave for 1 minute so the bread drinks up the broth, then sit an egg on top of each bowl and serve at once, with olives on the side if you like.
1 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 16 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does açorda alentejana take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 10 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of fresh coriander?
- Flat-leaf parsley with a little mint (for people who dislike coriander too).
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