History

Sopes mallorquines uses pa moreno, the island's dense unsalted brown bread, sliced thin and dried. The bread is layered into a pan with cabbage, chard, spring onion, garlic and whatever else the vegetable garden gave, then just enough broth is added for the bread to absorb all of it. The result is eaten with a fork rather than a spoon. It is peasant food from the interior, and Palma's cellers keep it on the winter carte alongside arròs brut.

Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 250g dense brown bread, sliced thin and dried
  • 1/2 white cabbage, shredded
  • 200g Swiss chard, shredded
  • 1 bunch spring onions, sliced
  • 1 green pepper, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 tomatoes, grated
  • 1 tsp sweet paprika
  • 800ml vegetable stock
  • Olive oil
  • Salt

Method

  1. Soften the spring onion, pepper and garlic in olive oil in a wide pan for 8 minutes.
  2. Add the grated tomato and paprika and cook down for 5 minutes.
  3. Stir in the cabbage and chard, cover, and let them collapse over low heat for 15 minutes.
  4. Add the stock, season, and simmer for 10 minutes.
  5. Layer the dried bread slices over the vegetables and ladle the broth over until just absorbed.
  6. Cover, turn off the heat and leave for 15 minutes. The pan should be dense, not wet.
  7. Finish with a heavy pour of olive oil at the table.

Tip from the editors. Add the broth in stages. The bread should drink all of it, leaving nothing loose in the pan.

Where to eat sopes mallorquines

Sopes mallorquines in Palma

Celler Sa Premsa ★ 4.0

Spanish€€casco-antiguoMon-Sat 12:00-16:00, 19:30-23:30; closed Sun

Celler Sa Premsa has poured from wine barrels near Palma's Mercat de l'Olivar since 1958, serving arròs brut, sopes mallorquines and gató almond cake.

Try: Mallorcan celler cooking

Order: Arròs brut, then gató almond cake with almond ice cream.

Tip: The set lunch is the cheapest route into a proper Mallorcan celler meal in central Palma.

Plaça del Bisbe Berenguer de Palou 8, 07003 Palma

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