Açorda is a typical

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

dish composed of thinly sliced bread with

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, finely chopped

coriander Coriander (;

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

, vinegar, water,

white pepper Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in diame ...

, salt and poached eggs. Throughout Portugal, Açordas have significant variations, most notably in the

Alentejo Alentejo ( , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond () the Tagus river" (''Tejo''). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo and Baixo Alent ...

, where an Açorda, also called Açorda Alentejana, can be considered a soup, whereas in other regions of Portugal it has a consistency similar to a bread paste. Other variations can have

shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

s or

codfish Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not calle ...

. The eggs are poached in salted water. Garlic, coriander and salt are "mashed" into a coarse paste, olive oil and vinegar are added in and then the mixture is poured over the bread. The eggs are then placed over the bread and the water used to poach them, with

chicken stock Stock, sometimes called bone broth, is a savory cooking liquid that forms the basis of many dishes particularly soups, stews, and sauces. Making stock involves simmering animal bones, meat, seafood, or vegetables in water or wine, often for an ...

, is poured over. The açorda is then left to steam for a few minutes. The final dish usually has a bright green flare.

Etymology

The etymology of the term “açorda” goes back to the

Arabic language Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

. 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 Andalusi Arabic (), also known as Andalusian Arabic, was a variety or varieties of Arabic spoken mainly from the 9th to the 17th century in Al-Andalus, the regions of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) once under Muslim rule. It ...

, 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''.

History

The primitive Arab Açorda, ''tharîd'', can be traced as far as the 5th century in the

Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre-Islamic Arabia ( ar, شبه الجزيرة العربية قبل الإسلام) refers to the Arabian Peninsula before the History of Islam, emergence of Islam in 610 CE. Some of the settled communities developed into distinctive civilizati ...

. It is one of the most characteristic dishes of the

Arab cuisine Arab cuisine ( ar, المطبخ العربي) is the cuisine of the Arabs, defined as the various regional cuisines spanning the Arab world, from the Maghreb to the Fertile Crescent and the Arabian Peninsula. These cuisines are centuries old an ...

and its creation is attributed to Hāshim ibn ‘Abd Manāf. This açorda would most resemble a meat and pumpkin stew, to which

breadcrumbs Bread crumbs or breadcrumbs (regional variants including breading and crispies) consist of crumbled bread of various dryness, sometimes with seasonings added, used for breading or crumbing foods, topping casseroles, stuffing poultry, thickening ...

were added. With the arrival of Muslims in the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

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 term ''açorda'' is found in

Gil Vicente Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...

's Farsa dos Almocreves: “Tendes uma voz tão gorda/ que parece alifante/ depois de farto de açorda”.

References

External links

*
A Guide on How to Make Açorda à Alentejana
{{Portuguese cuisine Portuguese cuisine