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Sopes mallorquines
Cabbage broth with brown bread
Sopes mallorquines: Mallorca's thick cabbage and vegetable broth soaked into thin slices of dark bread
Sopes are a winter ritual in Mallorca, simmered in a wide clay greixonera and eaten for breakfast by country people and for Sunday lunch by everyone else. Cabbage, chard, cauliflower, artichoke and mushrooms cook in a garlicky, paprika-tinted broth, which is then poured over wafer-thin slices of dry brown bread until it soaks it all up into a spoonable mass, more stew than soup. Pork ribs often go in; this version is all vegetables. Serve with pickled chillies and black olives on the side. Chef's tip: buy the bread sliced for sopes at a bakery or slice a hard loaf on a mandolin, as thin bread is the whole texture of the dish.
- Total time
- 70 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onionchopped
- 4 spring onionschopped
- 5 cloves garlicsliced
- 1 ripe tomatograted
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 ⅛ lb savoy cabbageshredded
- 9 oz Swiss chardchopped
- 10 ½ oz cauliflowerin small florets
- 4 artichoke heartsfresh or frozen, quartered
- 7 oz mushroomssliced
- 6 ¼ cups water
- 2 tsp salt
- 9 oz dry brown country breadsliced paper-thin
To serve
- 6 pickled green chillies (optional)
- 2 ⅛ oz black olives (optional)
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Heat the 6 tbsp olive oil in a wide pot or clay casserole over a medium heat. Cook the 1 onion and 4 spring onions for 8 minutes until soft, then add the 5 cloves garlic for 1 minute.
9 minStep 2: Add the 1 ripe tomato and cook for 5 minutes until jammy. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the 1 tbsp sweet paprika for a few seconds and return it to the heat; paprika burns and turns bitter in seconds on a hot base.
6 minStep 3: Add the 1 ⅛ lb savoy cabbage, 9 oz Swiss chard, 10 ½ oz cauliflower, 4 artichoke hearts and 7 oz mushrooms and turn them in the oil for 5 minutes until the cabbage wilts.
5 minStep 4: Pour in the 6 ¼ cups water with the 2 tsp salt, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 25–30 minutes until the cabbage is silky and the cauliflower is tender. Taste for salt; the broth should be well seasoned because the bread will dilute it.
30 minStep 5: Lay the 9 oz dry brown country bread in layers in a deep dish, ladling broth and vegetables over each layer until all the bread is soaked and just covered.
3 minStep 6: Leave to stand for 5 minutes until the bread has drunk the broth and the dish is thick and moist. A common mistake is adding too little broth; the sopes should be juicy, not dry. Serve with 6 pickled green chillies and 2 ⅛ oz black olives.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 320 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sopes mallorquines take?
- About 70 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 50 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of spring onions?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
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