5-ingredient Portuguese bread and cilantro soup
"Known as “Açorda à Alentejana” in Portugal, this soup is basically a magical porridge-like stew containing some of my absolute favorite ingredients: hearty bread, cilantro, Swiss chard, and garlic. I like to tear the bread apart with my hands for more rustic croutons, but if you want perfect cubes feel free to slice it. If you crave an extra bite (shout out to my fellow garlic lovers out there), spike the soup with another clove or two of garlic. To add some more heft, top each bowl with a poached egg. You can also thin out the soup with more vegetable broth, if desired."
Difficulty
Easy 👌Preparation
Baking
Resting
Ingredients
Utensils
cutting board, knife, food processor, rubber spatula, frying pan, pot
How-To Videos
How to chop green herbs
Homemade vegetable stock
Nutrition per serving
Step 1/4
- 250 g crusty bread
- 150 g Swiss chard
- 2 cloves garlic
- 30 g cilantro
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- salt
- cutting board
- knife
- food processor
- rubber spatula
Tear bread into bite-sized pieces. Slice out the chard stems, then dice both the stem and leaves—keeping them separate. Peel garlic cloves and add them to a food processor together with the cilantro and olive oil and purée until smooth. Season with salt and set aside.
Step 2/4
- olive oil (for frying)
- salt
- pepper
- frying pan
Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add some olive oil. Add the bread, season with salt and pepper, and toast for approx. 7 min. or until golden brown all over.
Step 3/4
- olive oil (for frying)
- salt
- pepper
- pot
Heat some olive oil in a pot over medium heat and sauté chopped Swiss chard stem for approx. 8 min. Season with salt and pepper then add chard leaves fry for approx. 8 min. more, or until leaves are tender.
Step 4/4
- 650 ml vegetable broth
- cilantro (for serving)
- salt
- pepper
Add vegetable broth and cilantro puree to the pot and season to taste with salt and pepper. Once warmed through, serve in soup bowls and top with plenty of croutons and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
Enjoy your meal!
