Portugal's Seafood Delight: Shrimp Açorda

Shrimp acorda may be the best Portuguese food that you've not yet eaten. In this dish, flavors of the sea combine with flavors of the land to create a satisfying soup that you'll love eating at any time of the year.

Shrimp AcordaPhoto by2foodtrippers

When you think about great Iberian family dishes, paella and cataplana probably come to your mind first. But don't discount açorda, Portugal's savory, comforting bread soup. There are many versions of the dish but our favorite is the version where plump cooked shrimp combines with luscious creamy soaked and stewed bread.

Shrimp açorda is a fisherman's dish that can be enjoyed on a seaside cliff by the Atlantic Ocean on a cold Portuguese evening or on a hot summer night after a day at the beach. Also called açorda de camerão, it's remarkably easy to make at home in less than an hour.

What Is Açorda?

Açorda, at it's essence, is a dish born of poverty that's evolved toward luxury over time. The dish has its most significant roots in the Alentejo, the heart of Portugal's agrarian south central heartland, where it's often served as as simple soup made with garlic, bread and eggs.

But, if you visit some of the great seafood restaurants on Portugal's central coast or in the north of the country, you'll find açorda made with all kinds of fin fish, bacalhau and, in its most expensive incarnation, lobster.

We like to make the stew-like soup with shrimp since the tasty crustacean is both affordable and relatively easy to obtain. Doing so elevates the dish from nutritional necessity to festive luxury.

Ingredients

Shrimp Açorda requires just the following ingredients:

• 1/2 pound jumbo shrimp (13 to 25 count per pound) - Living in Portugal, we see all different size classifications for shrimp. In you're in America, you can buy jumbo shrimp which greatly ranges from 13 to 25 a pound. Buying jumbo shrimp means that you'll have plenty of shrimp to cut up and, at the same time, some large whole shrimp for the final presentation. You want to buy shrimp with the heads and tails. In this dish, seafood stock soaks the bread and becomes crucial to the flavor of the dish. Note: We bought tiger shrimp which were on sale at our local market. White frozen shrimp is equally ideal in this recipe. (If you buy frozen shrimp, you can defrost them by covering the frozen shrimp in water for about 30 minutes.
• 0.88 pound bread (preferably Portuguese or Italian rolls; cut into pieces) - Don't get fancy here with a bougie sourdough. Small seedless Italian or Portuguese rolls (as long as they have no milk in them) work well in this recipe. We use 400 grams of bread which converts to 0.88 pounds. If you round up to a pound of bread, you'll need to add a 1/4 pound more of this shrimp to the recipe.
• 2 quarts water (for shrimp stock) - Two quarts of water provides the necesary volume when soaking the bread.
• 4 tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin) - You don't need a lot of olive oil to make açorda. Our recipes calls for two tablespoons in the initial shrimp saute and an additional tablespoon in the final mixture.
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste - Our use of tomato paste deviates from most açorda recipes which typically call for either tomato purée or whole tomatoes. Why do we do this? First, we don't want to open an entire jar of tomato puree to use just a couple tablespoons. (We buy and use tomato paste by the long lasting tube so that we waste less product.) Second, peeling and dicing fresh tomatoes is an unnecessary exercise in drudgery.
• 3 tablespoons cilantro (finely chopped with some left over for garnish) - The Portuguese have been eating cilantro since explorers brought coriander, the seeds for cilantro, home to Portugal centuries ago. The herb provides a signature herbal bite and color to the dish.
• 3 eggs (whole) and 1 egg yolk (for final presentation) - Eggs give the açorda richness. Our recipe calls for three whole eggs plus an extra egg yolk. We add the three eggs, one at a time, off the heat, while cooking the dish and the egg yolk as part of the final presentation. Please note that some of the egg white may break, especially if you use organic eggs like we do, but that breakage shouldn't affect the creaminess of the finished dish.
• 3 cloves garlic (finely chopped) - Garlic adds fragrance and flavor. Enough said.
• salt (to taste) - You need to add salt when you initially sauté the shrimp. You'll also want to correct for salt during the final phase of cooking.
• black pepper (to taste) - We find it ironic that most açorda recipes don't call for pepper. But we use it to completes the açorda's flavor. Plus, black pepper is crucial to Portugal's history.

How To Make Shrimp Açorda

There are three essential phases when cooking shrimp açorda:.

1. Sautéeing the shrimp.
2. Making flavorful stock with the shells and heads of the shrimp.
3. Cooking, thickening and finishing the soaked bread mixture.

After you gather the necessary ingredients and kitchen tools, the first step is to cut the shrimp, shell the shrimp and separate the heads. Next, devein the shrimp.

Once you shell and devein the shrimp, it's time to sauté them. First, heat olive oil in a large sauce pan and add garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, add the shrimp and sauté for precisely one minute per side. Once the shrimp are cooked, place them in a bowl and set them aside.

Pro Tip: Season the shrimp with salt as you cook them.

Once you remove the shrimp, immediately pour the heads and shells into the same pan. Sauté the shells and heads for about a minute or two and then add two quarts of water. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down and simmer the broth for 25 to 30 minutes.

Place the bread in a high-sided mixing bowl and, once the stock is finished, strain the stock over the bread. Mix it a little until the bread is fully soaked - about 5 to 15 minutes.

Now it's time to cut the shrimp into 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) pieces. Reserve four or five shrimp for the final presentation. Keep a bowl with the accumulated liquid from the shrimp for the next step.

Clean the saucepan that you used for the seafood stock and place it back on the stove. Add the accumulated cooked shrimp liquid (see above) plus a tablespoon of olive oil. Next, add the soaked bread to the pan and cook over medium heat until the mixture is thick and creamy - about 5 to 10 minutes.

Once the mixture is thick, take the pan off the heat and add three whole eggs, one at a time, until they're incorporated. Add the cilantro and then the shrimp. Cook until the shrimp are just heated.

Once the shrimp açorda is fully cooked, ladel it in an earthenware bowl.

Place four or five whole shrimp on top of the açorda in a neat circular pattern. Crack an egg and place its yolk in the center of the whole shrimp.

Mix in the egg yolk just before you serve it to your guests. They'll be wowed and you'll be the hero of the dinner party.

This recipe was originally published on 2 foodtrippers. Consider subscribing to 2foodtrippers if you enjoyed it.