Açorda

Açorda is a traditional Portuguese dish composed of cubed or sliced stale bread with garlic, coriander, 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
The primitive Arab açorda, tharîd, can be traced as far as the 5th century in the Pre-Islamic Arabia. It is one of the most characteristic dishes of the Arab cuisine and its creation is attributed to Hāshim ibn ‘Abd Manāf. This açorda would most resemble a meat and pumpkin stew, to which breadcrumbs were added.

According to Alan Davidson, tharid was very popular with Mohammed, which caused it to spread wherever Muslims did. With the arrival of Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula at the beginning of the 8th century, the açorda, now known as thurûd, also arrived. There are two known books in which thurûd is referenced: FuDâlat al-Khiwân fi Tayyibât al-Ta'am wa-l-Alwân (The Highlight of the Tables, in the Delights of Food and Different Dishes), written by Ibn Razîn al-Tujibî; and the anonymous Hispanic-Maghreb Cuisine Treaty.

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.

Etymology
The etymology of the term “açorda” goes back to the Arabic language. The etymological root, tharada, means "to break bread". The classic form found in Arabic literature is tharîd or tharîda, with the plurals tharâ’id or thurûd, meaning “crumbed and soaked bread”.

The Portuguese term “açorda” comes, however, from the dialectal form of Andalusi Arabic, spoken in the Iberian Peninsula, thurda / çurda or thorda / çorda, the latter the etymological link closest to the current Portuguese term, and to which the article “al” was associated, which, in certain cases it loses its normal consonant sound, and starts to be pronounced like the first letter of the next word, such as açúcar, as-sukkar, or azeite, from az-zayt. Al-thurda, a Moorish pronunciation, evolved into açorda.

Ingredients and variants
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 7 Wonders of Portuguese Gastronomy.

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, coriander 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-coriander paste, then folding it into the eggs in their poaching liquid.

The final dish usually has a bright green color.