In Portugal, soup is not just a recipe: it is an institution, with a history and a fan club.
For centuries, in rural and urban households, it was the most reliable way to bring hot food to the table with whatever was available: vegetables from the garden, dried pulses, a bone for flavour when available, stale bread for thickening. A complete meal, repeatable and designed to feed several people.
Soup also marks territory.
In the north and inland, thicker and firmer soups appear, often with vegetables and cabbage. On the coast, fish and seafood are a natural part of broths and soups, and in the Alentejo, soup is combined with bread, olive oil and garlic as the basis of identity (açorda, tomato soups). This is what was (and still is) cooked according to the climate, the economy and the products available.
So when a Portuguese person talks about “soup”, he or she may be talking about very different things: green broth (cabbage and chouriço, almost a national symbol), feijão soup o de grão (always better the next day), canja (the “cure-all” one), vegetable cream (the base), peixe soup, or a açorda alentejana with bread, garlic, coriander and poached egg.
The Julienne Soup enters this repertoire as a practical classic: a vegetable cream base to give it body and, at the end, the “julienne” (the finely chopped pieces) that gives it texture and makes it a complete soup.
And this is precisely one of the recipes that you ask us for the most at A Casa Portuguesa. Here's how Leonor makes it, and let us know how it turns out!
The recipe:
First of all, you have to choose the ingredients...
We advise you to look at what you have in the fridge, but potatoes, carrots and onions are always good for a good base (in case you're short of ideas). For the leek pieces, kale or green beans are always good options.
- We start by peeling all the vegetables, cut them well and wash them.
- Put a little extra virgin olive oil in a pot, stir everything well, add a little salt, and add water - it is enough if the vegetables are covered.
- Bring to the boil.
- In the meantime, we are going to chop up our “julienne” (or as you call it, the "tropezones").
- When the first vegetables are already cooked, we grind our cream and add the “julienne”. Let it boil a little longer, and that's it!
Pro tip: Leonor loves to serve it with fresh spinach. Bom apetite!