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Sopa de tomate à alentejana
Tomato soup with poached eggs
Sopa de tomate à alentejana: a thick summer tomato and pepper soup with eggs poached in it, ladled over bread
In the Alentejo, high summer means tomatoes ripening faster than anyone can eat them, and this is what farm families do with the glut: a thick, oily stew-soup of tomato, onion and green pepper, with eggs poached right in the pot and the whole thing spooned over slices of stale country bread. It is a supper dish, eaten in deep plates on hot evenings, often with grapes or melon afterwards. Many households slip in chouriço; this version keeps it vegetarian. A common mistake is using watery salad tomatoes; you need very ripe, deep-red ones for a soup that tastes of anything. Chef's tip: cook the onion slowly until truly sweet before the tomatoes go in; that sweetness carries the whole dish.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 onionsthinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlicsliced
- 1 green peppersliced
- 2 ⅝ lb very ripe tomatoespeeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 3 cups hot water
- 4 eggs
- 8 slices day-old country bread1 cm thick
- 1 tsp dried oregano or a few mint leaves (optional)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Warm ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil in a wide, heavy pot over a medium-low heat. Add 2 onions and cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring now and then, until very soft, sweet and lightly golden.
15 minStep 2: Add 4 cloves garlic and 1 green pepper and cook for 5 minutes until the pepper softens.
5 minStep 3: Add 2 ⅝ lb very ripe tomatoes, 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp sweet paprika and 1 ½ tsp salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring, until the tomatoes collapse into a thick, glossy sauce and the oil starts to separate at the edges.
15 minStep 4: Pour in 3 cups hot water, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Taste for salt; it should taste rich and slightly sweet.
Step 5: Lower the heat so the soup barely bubbles. Make four hollows with a spoon and crack one of 4 eggs into each. Cover and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the whites are set and opaque and the yolks still soft. For pregnant women, young children or anyone vulnerable, cook 3 minutes more until the yolks are firm.
5 minStep 6: Lay two slices of 8 slices day-old country bread in each deep plate. Ladle the soup over, sliding an egg onto each plate, and scatter with 1 tsp dried oregano or a few mint leaves if you like. Leave for a minute so the bread drinks up the broth.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 420 kcal
- Protein
- 14 g
- Carbs
- 48 g
- Fat
- 21 g
- Fibre
- 7 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopa de tomate à alentejana take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 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 onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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