The dish requires a prawn broth, which is made with the heads and shells of the prawns and your desired combination of aromatics. Use a hearty bread; Varela used pão alentejano, a dense sourdough from southern Portugal. Varela chose to serve a small portion of the prawns “cooked” in the residual heat of the açorda, with the remainder served on top of the dish. If you don’t want to eat raw prawns, you can simply add them all at the earlier stage.

Serves 2

For the stock:

250g medium-sized whole prawns Aromatics (your choice of onions, garlic, parsley, bay leaves, orange or lemon peels, white wine, peppercorns)

For the açorda:

100ml extra-virgin olive oil

25g cilantro stems, chopped

25g garlic, peeled and sliced thinly

200g leftover sourdough bread, cut in 2cm squares

2g salt

1 pinch white pepper

150ml white wine

25g cilantro leaves, chopped

4 egg yolks

Step One

Prepare the stock: Peel and devein the prawns, reserving the shells and heads. You should have around 125g of peeled, deveined prawns. Retain 100g of the prawns whole, and chop the remaining 25g. Set aside. In a saucepan, combine the prawn heads and shells, your desired aromatics and 500ml of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain, discarding the solids; you should have around 500ml of broth. Keep the broth hot.

Step Two

Prepare the açorda: In a medium saucepan over low heat, heat the olive oil and add the cilantro stems and garlic. When they start to release their aromas, add the day-old bread, salt and white pepper. Mix well. Increase the heat to medium, add the white wine and let it boil to evaporate the alcohol, stirring frequently to break up the bread. Add the broth, stirring frequently, until the mixture is slightly reduced and has the texture of a relatively uniform porridge.

Step Three

Remove the saucepan from the heat and add two of the egg yolks, mixing vigorously. Add the chopped prawns and the cilantro leaves, stirring to combine. Taste, adjusting seasoning with salt and white pepper, if necessary. The açorda should have the texture of a thick porridge, and should taste rich from the egg yolks and prawns, subtly acidic from the white wine, and should be fragrant from the prawns and cilantro.

Step Four

Serve the açcorda: Remove the açorda to two shallow bowls, topping with the remaining raw shrimp and egg yolks.