Açorda

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Portuguese bread soup

title: "Açorda" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["portuguese-cuisine", "bread-soups"] description: "Portuguese bread soup" topic_path: "general/portuguese-cuisine" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Açorda" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Portuguese bread soup ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox food"]

FieldValue
nameAçorda
imageAcorda09 (cropped).jpg
image_upright1.2
captionAçorda
typeBread soup
courseMain course
country
national_cuisinePortuguese
creator
main_ingredientBread, eggs, garlic, cilantro
serving_size100 g
no_recipesfalse
::

| name = Açorda | image = Acorda09 (cropped).jpg | image_upright=1.2 | image_alt = | caption = Açorda | alternate_name = | type = Bread soup | course = Main course | country = | region = | national_cuisine = Portuguese | creator = | year = | mintime = | maxtime = | served = | main_ingredient = Bread, eggs, garlic, cilantro | minor_ingredient = | variations = | serving_size = 100 g | calories = | calories_ref = | protein = | fat = | carbohydrate = | glycemic_index = | similar_dish = | cookbook = | commons = | other = | no_recipes= false

Açorda is a traditional Portuguese dish composed of cubed or sliced stale bread with garlic, cilantro, and poached eggs. It is a type of bread soup, although some variants have a consistency closer to that of a porridge.

The version served in Alentejo, açorda à Alentejana, is a classic of the region's cuisine.

History

One of the first designations of the term açorda is found in 16th-century playwright Gil Vicente's Farsa dos Almocreves: "Tendes uma voz tão gorda/ que parece alifante/ depois de farto de açorda". (Roughly: You have such a big voice/ that it sounds like an elephant/ after too much bread soup.)

The dish's origins are as a poverty food, intended to prevent waste by using leftover bread, that evolved into a classic of Portuguese and particularly Alentejan cuisine.

Ingredients and variants

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/Açorda_à_Alentejana_edited_(cropped).jpg" caption="Açorda à Alentejana"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/A_orda_de_Marisco_(cropped).jpg" caption="Porridge-like açorda de marisco, from [[Olhão"] ::

The dish is traditionally made with pao Alentejano.

Throughout Portugal there are multiple variants of garlic and cilantro bread soup; the most notable originated in Alentejo, where an açorda, also called açorda Alentejana or açorda à alentejana, has the consistency of a soup and is widely served in homes and restaurants throughout the region. According to Travel Magazine, it is "arguably Alentejo's signature dish". According to Publico it is an icon of Alentejan cuisine. Açorda à Alentejana was one of the finalist candidates for the .

In other regions of Portugal the bread may be boiled in the broth and the dish may have a consistency similar to that of a porridge.

Other variations may include sausage, shrimp or codfish; the codfish version is called açorda de bacalhau. The version with shrimp is called açorda de marisco and is particularly popular in Lisbon. A version is known in Maccanese cuisine.

Preparation

The dish is typically assembled from prepared ingredients rather than cooked, although some versions call for cooking the bread, cilantro, and garlic in the broth.

In a typical preparation the eggs are poached in salted water or stock. Garlic, cilantro and salt are mashed into a coarse paste with olive oil and vinegar, and the mixture is poured over the bread. The eggs are placed on the bread and the poaching liquid is poured over. The açorda is typically left to steep for a few minutes to soften the bread.

Some recipes call for coating the bread in the garlic-cilantro paste, then folding it into the eggs in their poaching liquid.

The final dish usually has a bright green color. | title = Preparation | align = center | footer = | style = | state = | height = | width = | captionstyle = | File:Stale bread for Acorda.jpg | alt1 = | Stale bread is cubed or sliced |File:Cilantro and garlic paste.jpg |alt2 = |Cilantro and garlic are ground to a paste |File:Acorda 3.jpg |alt3 = |Bread is coated in cilantro-garlic paste and portioned into individual bowls |File:Acorda.jpg |alt4 = |Broth and a poached egg completes the dish

References

References

  1. "Açordas".
  2. "A Açorda. Uma sopa de pão, da Alta Idade Média à atualidade". [[NOVA University Lisbon]].
  3. "Açorda à Alentejana {{!}} Traditional Bread Soup From Beja District {{!}} TasteAtlas".
  4. Kronenthal, Melissa. (2012-01-14). "Portuguese soup transforms stale to steamy good".
  5. Bruno, Cátia. (2017-10-03). "A Comfort Food From a Time of Hunger". [[Slate (magazine).
  6. Howe, Marvine. (1989-01-15). "FARE OF THE COUNTRY; The Hearty Breads Of Portugal's Hearths". [[The New York Times]].
  7. Anderson, Jean. (2013-10-21). "The Food I Dream Of".
  8. Rocha, Ana. (2022-10-21). "Açorda Alentejana, Prato presente em qualquer mesa da região!".
  9. "Tem raízes no Alentejo e faz parte do cartaz de boas-vindas da região. Conheça a açorda à alentejana".
  10. Chakraborty, Sneha. (2021-02-15). "Top 10 things to see and do in Alentejo, Portugal".
  11. Lusa, Fugas. (2024-01-04). "Mourão aquece Janeiro com mais açorda alentejana".
  12. "Apresentação". Maravilhas da Gastronomia.
  13. "7 Maravilhas da Gastronomia". Online 24.
  14. "Portugueses podem escolher as 7 Maravilhas da Gastronomia". DN Portugal.
  15. Gritzer, Daniel. (16 March 2023). "Açorda à Alentejana (Portuguese Garlic and Cilantro Bread Soup) Recipe".
  16. Serrano, Augusta. (2024-02-04). "A Verdadeira Açorda: Uma única versão autêntica alentejana!".
  17. Noone, Yasmin. (27 April 2022). "Move over custard tart: Portuguese cuisine is stepping out".
  18. Hamilton, Cherie Y.. (2001). "Cuisines of Portuguese encounters: recipes from Portugal, Madeira/Azores, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, Mozambique, Goa, Brazil, Malacca, East Timor, and Macao". Hippocrene Books.
  19. Serrano, Augusta. (2021-09-12). "Açorda Alentejana, um dos mais belos pratos da gastronomia Alentejana! " De comer e chorar por mais…"".
  20. Anderson, Jean. (21 October 2013). "Açorda à Alentejana (Bread and Garlic Soup with Cilantro)".

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