Ingredients
- 1 pound (about 1/2 loaf) dried-out broa (Portuguese cornbread), or any
sturdy rustic loaf of bread - 2 large onions or leeks
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 4 pounds tomatoes
- 1 whole head garlic, separated into cloves and peeled
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pound raw jumbo shrimp, shelled or not, depending on what you please
- 4 ounces chouriço or chorizo, roughly sliced (optional)
- 1 tablespoon anchovy paste, or 2 to 3 canned anchovy fillets, crushed (optional)
- A small pat butter (optional)
- Plenty of chopped cilantro leaves
Directions
-
Tear the bread into bite-sized pieces. Place them in a bowl with enough
salted water to cover and set aside for a couple of hours. -
While the bread soaks, thinly slice the onions or leeks and heat them
gently in a large skillet over medium heat with 1/3 cup of the olive oil until
softened and golden, 30 minutes or so. -
Meanwhile, roughly chop the tomatoes, toss them in a large, roomy pot
with the rest of the olive oil and the garlic, and let them cook down over
medium heat until they’re about half the original volume. -
Crush the peppercorns and coriander seeds in a mortar and add them to
the tomatoes in the pot along with the oregano. When the tomatoes have
cooked down, push them through a strainer and return them to the pot.
Then use your hands to squeeze the bread dry. Stir the soaked, squeezed-out
bread and 4 cups cold water to the tomatoes in the pot. Let it bubble up and
cook gently for another 20 minutes, then stir in the onion or leeks and their
cooking oil along with the shrimp, the sliced chouriço, if using, and the
anchovies, if using (the anchovies really accentuate the seafood flavor) -
Cook the soup for another 20 minutes, until the bread is perfectly amalgamated
into—you know, melded with—the broth. Stir in a pat of butter, if desired,
and finish with a liberal scattering of fresh chopped cilantro.
This Recipe Is Published Here
bon appetit
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