Zurrukutuna (Zurrukutuna)
Overview
Zurrukutuna is a thick Basque soup of garlic, bread and salt cod. Plenty of garlic is fried gently in olive oil, then the flesh of dried choricero peppers is stirred in, giving the soup its red colour and sweet, smoky flavour, sometimes with a spoonful of tomato sauce. Slices of toasted stale bread are added with water and fish stock, and the soup is simmered until the bread breaks down and thickens it. Flakes of desalted salt cod go in towards the end, and it is traditionally finished with a couple of eggs. It is rich, garlicky and savoury, and it is served piping hot in earthenware bowls.
History
Zurrukutuna is a traditional winter dish of the Basque Country, where salt cod has long been a staple and stale bread was never wasted. The Basque ethnographer Juan Garmendia Larrañaga recorded that in Urnieta, in Gipuzkoa, it was eaten on Olentzero day, the Christmas Eve celebration named after the Basque charcoal-burner who brings presents to children. It is still cooked at home in the cold months.
Main ingredients
Salt cod, stale bread, garlic, choricero pepper, olive oil, egg. The soup is built on garlic and fish broth and is usually served hot. Diet: pescatarian; not usually gluten-free.
Explore: Fish and seafood soups · Egg soups · More soups from Spain
Recipe
Method
- 1
Fry the garlic gently in the oil until golden.
- 21 min
Stir in the pepper flesh, then add the bread and fry for 1 minute.
- 320 min
Pour in the water and stock and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring, until the bread breaks down.
- 45 min
Add the salt cod and cook for 5 minutes.
- 5
Beat in the eggs or poach them in the soup and serve hot.
- ✓
Serve. About 45 min from start to bowl.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
