National Dish Portugal: Açorda de Bacalhau (Recipe)
In this article
Açorda de Bacalhau is stale bread, salt cod, garlic and coriander, and it exists because nothing in a Portuguese kitchen was thrown away. The bread is broken into hot broth and beaten until it collapses into a thick, garlicky mass.
About Acorda de Bacalhau
Açorda is Alentejano peasant food. In its simplest form it is bread, garlic, coriander, olive oil and boiling water, with a poached egg on top. With salt cod it becomes a fuller meal.
Portugal has a documented obsession with bacalhau: the standard claim is 365 recipes, one for each day, and the real number is higher.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 200g dried salt cod
- 2–3 slices of stale bread
- 1 onion
- 2–3 garlic cloves
- 1 handful of fresh coriander
- 50ml olive oil
- 1 litre water or fish stock
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Shopping for the ingredients
Salt cod needs soaking for 24 to 48 hours with several changes of water, depending on thickness. Buy a thick loin piece rather than thin tail. Use dense country bread, at least a day old; soft sliced bread dissolves into paste.
Preparing the dish
Soak the cod properly and taste it before cooking. Keep the poaching water: that is the broth. Crush the garlic and coriander together with a little salt into a paste, which is the traditional method and gives a better result than chopping.
Step-by-step instructions
- Soak the salt cod for 24–48 hours, changing the water several times.
- Bring the cod to the boil in a pan with fresh water or fish stock and poach 10 minutes; lift out and keep the liquid.
- In a separate pan, heat the olive oil and sweat the onion and garlic until soft and translucent.
- Add the coriander and let it sizzle briefly to release its aromas.
- Break the stale bread into the hot broth and stir well until it collapses.
- Add the onion, garlic and coriander mixture and beat everything together until thick and smooth.
- Flake the cod into pieces and stir it through.
- Season with salt and pepper, then serve, traditionally with a poached egg on top.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
The dish contains no dairy. The bread is the structural ingredient, so a gluten-free version needs a dense gluten-free loaf and will behave differently.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Açorda à alentejana, without the cod, is a real dish: bread, garlic, coriander, olive oil and boiling water, with an egg. Leave the egg out for a vegan version and add more olive oil. It is peasant food and works.
More tips and tricks
Soak the cod long enough and taste before cooking. Use the poaching liquid as the broth. Crush the garlic and coriander to a paste rather than chopping them. And beat the bread in hard: açorda should be thick enough to hold a spoon.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
A poached egg on top is standard and turns it into a full meal. Prawns make açorda de marisco, the shellfish version. More coriander than seems reasonable is correct.
Ingredient substitutions
Fresh cod works if you salt it lightly overnight, though the texture differs. Any dense stale bread. Parsley is not a substitute for coriander here; the coriander is the flavour.
Drink pairing ideas
A Vinho Verde or a white from Alentejo. Portuguese red also works despite the fish. Water otherwise.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve it in a deep bowl with olive oil poured over and coriander scattered on top, with an egg if you are having one. It is brown and lumpy and it is meant to be. Bread on the side, more of it.
A bit of history
Bacalhau came to Portugal from Newfoundland fishing grounds from the fifteenth century onward, salted for the voyage, and became a national staple despite Portugal having its own fish. Açorda is older still, an Arab-influenced bread soup from the Alentejo. It anchors Portuguese cuisine.
More recipe ideas
- Bolinhos de Bacalhau
- Caldeirada de Peixe
- Frango de Churrasco
- Grão com Bacalhau
- Pataniscas de Bacalhau
- Pudim de Ovos
Summary: Acorda de Bacalhau
Açorda de bacalhau is stale bread beaten into salt cod broth with garlic, coriander and olive oil. Soak the cod properly, keep the poaching liquid, and beat the bread in until thick.
