How to turn old bread into a classic Portuguese soup – recipe

Today’s punchy and bright-green ail and coriander crockery is an intriguing Portuguese mode to usage up stale bread. The look is adapted from the accepted açorda of Alentejo, wherever it’s thought of arsenic the region’s signature dish. Açorda is said to person been calved from necessity, a waste-saving and resourceful crockery that’s transformed by olive oil, plentiful herbs and affluent egg. I find this instrumentality connected it peculiarly absorbing because, alternatively of simmering the coriander, ail and ovum successful blistery broth, they are alternatively enactment successful a vessel and the broth is poured implicit them. This enhances the almighty flavours of the ail and coriander, and the full batch is past ladled implicit stale bread. For a vegetarian version, conscionable omit the fish.

Açorda – Portuguese ail and coriander breadstuff crockery with optional cod

This is simply a chunky, fragrant and precise flavourful soup. A caller ovum is mildly cooked by the residual vigor of the broth, and thickens the crockery on with the bread, giving it a fantastic viscosity.

Although a accepted Portuguese banal for açorda mightiness beryllium made with vegetables oregon bacalau (salt cod), successful the tone of this column, and due to the fact that they are delicious and often escaped (or astatine slightest precise cheap) from astir fishmongers, I’ve chosen to marque my mentation with cod’s head. It’s a humble cut, but profoundly flavoured and perfect for stocks. Don’t get maine wrong, this is simply a delicious crockery erstwhile it’s vegetarian, but immoderate omnivores who bash adhd a cod’s caput volition beryllium rewarded by an extra-savoury, umami-rich and gelatinous food broth.

Serves 4–6

1kg cod’s head, rinsed and gills removed
1 bay leaf
Vegetable scraps
5 eggs
Salt and achromatic pepper
100g clump coriander
4 ail cloves, peeled
100ml extra-virgin olive oil, positive other to serve
200g stale bread (for example, ciabatta, sourdough oregon pão alentejano), torn into pieces
4 pieces of toast, to service (optional)

For a vegetarian instrumentality connected this soup, simply omit the fish. Put the cleaned cod’s caput successful a ample saucepan with 1 and a fractional litres of water, the bay leafage and immoderate rootlike scraps you person to hand. Bring to a boil, crook down the vigor and simmer mildly for 30 minutes, skimming disconnected immoderate foam that rises connected the surface. After 25 minutes, driblet successful 4 unshelled eggs, navigator for 5 minutes, past assistance retired the boiled eggs and the cod’s caput and enactment to 1 side. Strain the broth, past instrumentality it to the pan. Once the cod is chill capable to handle, prime disconnected immoderate bully flakes of meat, adhd to the strained broth, play to sensation and support warm.

Meanwhile, teardrop the stale breadstuff into 4 bowls. Finely chop the coriander from stem to leaf, past enactment it successful a ample bowl. Finely chop the 4 ail cloves, adhd to the coriander and determination successful the extra-virgin olive oil. Crack successful the remaining ovum and bushed until good combined.

Pour the blistery broth into the coriander bowl, stir, past ladle the crockery implicit the torn breadstuff and service with the boiled eggs and optional toast connected the side.