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Recipe

Alentejo-Style Açorda with Poached Eggs

Serves

4

Active Time

25 MIN

Origin

ALENTEJO

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Alentejo-Style Açorda with Poached Eggs

During tomato season, there are no bad cooks.

— PORTUGUESE SAYING

It is certainly the most aromatic of Portuguese soups. It goes to the tables of both the rich and the poor, where it is presented with the most varied accompaniments. It goes just as well with a piece of popular codfish or aristocratic hake. It does not look down upon the vibrant pairing of a grilled sardine and accepts poached eggs just as well as boiled ones. It is most famous when heavily scented with cilantro, but there are those who prefer it fragrantly prepared with pennyroyal (poejo). A little green pepper suits it well in the Summer, and it does not hide its affinity for a beautiful bunch of grapes or for sweet "pingo de mel" figs. It must be brought to the table hot and very green, with a scattering of yellow droplets from the magnificent, highly aromatic Alentejo olive oil with which it is seasoned. We suggest olive oil from Moura or northern Alentejo.

THE RECIPE

Ingredients

Serves 4

  1. 1 bunch of cilantro
  2. 3 cloves of garlic
  3. 1 tablespoon of coarse salt
  4. 5 tablespoons of olive oil
  5. 200 g of day-old Alentejo bread (2nd-day bread)
  6. 4 eggs
  7. 1 piece of cod or hake (optional)

Preparation

Remove any yellow leaves and the toughest stems from the cilantro and crush them in a mortar along with the peeled garlic cloves and coarse salt. When a smooth paste is achieved, place it into the serving tureen or individual bowls. Pour the olive oil over the paste. Meanwhile, boil about 2 liters of water, in which you can choose to cook a piece of cod or hake, or not. Separately, poach the eggs in water to which a small splash of vinegar has been added. Cut the bread into squares, slices, or break it into bite-sized pieces by hand. Blanch the cilantro paste with the boiling water. Stir using a larger slice of bread cut expressly for this purpose. Taste the broth with this slice and adjust the salt. Introduce the bread into the broth, which should look very green and remain very hot. Cover it if you prefer soft bread soups, or serve the açorda immediately along with the poached eggs.