Sopa de Tomate

Alentejo·Easy·10 min

The Alentejo's hearty summer soup of ripe tomatoes cooked down with garlic and olive oil, poured boiling over bread with a soft egg cracked on top and cooked until set.

The Alentejo's summer tomato-and-bread soup. Garlic fried in olive oil, ripe tomatoes cooked down, broth poured boiling over bread, an egg cracked on top and covered until set. A hot, hearty, bread-based soup, unlike gazpacho.

A bright, deeply tomatoey broth poured over soft bread, the bread having soaked up every drop, a soft egg on top whose yolk runs gold into the red. Eaten hot, the garlic and olive oil warm on the throat.

The soup is built on ripe tomatoes and bread. Garlic is fried gently in olive oil, ripe tomatoes added and cooked down until they collapse into a sauce, water added for broth. Slices of day-old bread go in the bowl, the hot tomato broth poured over, and an egg cracked on top, the whole bowl returned to low heat or covered until the egg white sets but the yolk stays runny. The bread drinks up the broth, becoming soft and saturated. The tomatoes must be dead ripe; pale ones make a thin, sour soup.

Variations

Some add a handful of cooked chickpeas. Peppers are sometimes included. A version without egg is faster.

On the Palate

Where Sopa de Tomate sits in the Portuguese flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 4

1kgTomato

4 slices day-oldBread

5 clovesGarlic

4 tbspOlive Oil

4Egg

How it's made

6 steps · 10 min

1
4 min
Score and peel 1kg ripe tomatoes; cut into chunks.
2
4 min
Heat 4 tbsp olive oil in a pot with 5 garlic cloves; fry gently 2 minutes.
3
6 min
Add the tomatoes, a pinch of 糖 and salt; cook 15 minutes until they collapse into a sauce.
Watch out
Cook the tomatoes right down until they collapse into a sauce — pale, underripe ones give a thin, sour soup, so use them dead ripe.
4
5 min
Pour in 800ml water, bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes; season well.
5
4 min
Lay slices of day-old bread in 4 bowls; ladle the hot tomato broth over each.
6
4 min
Crack an egg into each bowl, cover with a plate, and let sit 3 to 4 minutes until the white sets; serve at once.
Watch out
Cover and let the egg sit off fierce heat until the white just sets but the yolk stays runny — that soft yolk is the point.

Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed

These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.

Dutch Oven

A heavy enameled or bare cast-iron lidded pot, 4-7 liters, with thick walls and a snug lid. The mass evens out hotspots; the lid traps moisture for braising. Sears on the stovetop, then transfers to a 150°C oven for 3-4 hours of even, contained heat — the structural difference between a beef bourguignon that comes out luminous and one that turns to gray mush. Le Creuset and Staub are the celebrated versions; an old American Wagner is functionally identical.

Techniques

Boiling Simmering