Seafood Açorda

A creamy texture where bread soaks up a robust shrimp stock. Garlic and fresh cilantro provide a herbal punch that cuts through the tender seafood.

• Prep time: 20 min
• Cook time: 30 min
• Difficulty: Medium
• Calories: 1016
• Protein: 52 g
• Carbs: 146 g
• Fat: 22 g

Ingredients

• 500 g Country bread ( stale, cubed )
• 500 g Wild shrimp ( whole )
• 400 g Clam ( cleaned )
• 4 piece Garlic ( minced )
• 4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
• 50 g Fresh cilantro ( chopped )
• 2 piece Egg ( beaten )
• 800 ml Mineral water
• 1 pinch Hot pepper en poudre
• 1 pinch Gray sea salt
• 500 g White bread ( 2 days old, diced )

Instructions

1. Broth extraction

   Peel the shrimp. Sauté the heads and shells in a drizzle of oil until they color. Add the mineral water, crush the heads to release the juices and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain to obtain a clear, orange broth.

2. Soaking the bread

   Mix the diced country bread and Alentejo bread in a large container. Pour the boiling broth over them. Let the crumb soak completely until it crushes easily under pressure.

3. Aromatic base

   Mince the garlic. In a skillet, heat the olive oil and brown the garlic with the chili without browning. The oil should be fragrant and the garlic should remain soft.

4. Binding the açorda

   Add the soaked bread to the skillet. Stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. The preparation should thicken and pull away from the sides of the skillet to form a smooth, homogeneous mass.

5. Final cooking and eggs

   Stir in the shrimp and clams. As soon as the shrimp are pink and the clams are open, turn off the heat. Add the eggs and chopped cilantro. Mix quickly: the residual heat should cook the egg to bind everything without forming lumps.

Chef's tips

• Never use fresh bread, it would turn into a shapeless mush without texture.
• The secret is in the eggs: they must bind the sauce without coagulating into white lumps.

Storage

Eat immediately. The bread continues to absorb liquid while resting and loses its structure.