Cartuja is a island on a river near Seville. There is a monastery there. Or cartuja can refer to a monastery. So I am not sure where this soup got its name… that it is common in cartuja, or that folks in monasteries can easily whip it up with ingredients they commonly have on hand? Or like lumpia shanghai, could it be our version of some other more authentic Spanish soup? I wouldn’t know. But a special surprise for us on our second evening in Bacolod was an aunt of Margarita Fores’ who came over to cook a few dishes with MF and her crew. This aunt had lived in Spain for several decades and hence I would like to think that THAT is the reason that this sopa de cartuja tasted so simple, yet so wonderful.
Some diced chorizo or other spanish sausages, shredded jamon serrano, chicken broth, shredded chicken breast meat, day old bread, a few chopped tomatoes and seasoning and simmer until flavors meld and volia! I’m sure there is olive oil in there and possibly onion and garlic as well. If you like, drop a whole raw egg (without the shell) into a bowl of piping hot soup and the egg will poach itself. Yum. Comfort food. A chicken soup or even ham broth with bits of pork goodness, chicken and bread and egg. A very nice way to start a meal after a FULL DAY OF EATING! :)
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I can guarantee you it is 120% excellent – nothing could go wrong with substantive ingredients chorizo del bilbao (I assume) and Jamon Serrano. I can nibble Jamon Serrano all day long with quince paste and cheese and I will not get tired of it if my economics will let me splurge but I’m subdued. Put the two together they are a sure winner even you boil them in plain water and let them simmer simmer with low fire to bring out their flavor!
hahah, i like this part:
If you like, drop a whole raw egg (without the shell) into a bowl of piping hot soup and the egg will poach itself.
Thanks for making me laugh as I start my workday! :-)
MM, From the color of the broth it looks like the ingredients were just added in.
The meats weren’t fried prior to addition to the chicken broth?
hmmmmm…. chicken broth! My mom used to make it with beef broth. Masubukan nga. Thanks again, MM!
hahaha.and the egg without the shell.. you really has a sense of humor MM. and the soup looks so good.such a comfort food indeed..
Maria Clara, ther is no such thing as chorizo del Bilbao anywhere in Spain. That is only found in the Philippines. What most Filipinos know as Chorizo Bilbao is the chorizo El Rey, not even maid in Spain but in The United States in nice big green cans as far as we know.There are numerous Spanish sausages available. Chorizo Pamplona or other fresh chorizos.
Love this dish! This is one of my mom’s specialties..it’s also nice to eat late at night after a night of, um, revelry ;) Very fortifying :)
wow….a steaming hot bowl of soup…..love it….how do you do it MM?
I’m clearly biased because I grew-up in the Philippines from age 2-17 but I feel the Filipino versions of most Spanish dishes taste better!
Somehow monasteries and cartuja mean only Carthusian monks to me.
Sometime I feel that purists who insist on denying that there is no such thing as chorizo de bilbao in Spain are on equal footings with those who force-fit Filipino locutions into glass slippers provided by the Real Academia de la Lengua Espan(~)ola.
Dropping a raw egg ( without the shell as MM specifies) may sound funny , but I think it is normal in some cultures to drop eggs with the shell into the soup….carefully so as not to break, ha, ha.
I think it was in Siem Riep that I scooped a whole egg (with the shell) in my congee.
Murasaki Shikibu, I agree with you or I must have missed the best tapas and paellas in Spain.
I thought most of the dishes were salty and swimming in olive oil.
Mmmmm…this sounds so good and easy to make. Will keep it in my “notebook” to make. Thanks MM. It looks so simple…and I can almost taste it.
Yes,the egg without the shell made me smile…thanks for the humor MM……oo nga naman,baka may maghulog ng itlog na nasa shell pa.Ha ha ha…
Hi bettyq,miss you!!
Nice indeed! Will try that one of these days since it’s getting cooler here down under… Yum! :)
There is truly no such thing as Chorizo Bilbao is Spain. It is just that that the smoked Paprika used in making the chorizo is referred to as “tipo Bilbao”. No one wants to deny its existence in a can made by Purefoods or CDC. Its as pinoy as can be.
You’re right MM, they’re probably cooked or inspired by the followers (monks and nuns) of San Bruno in the Andalusian area of Spain.
I studied in the Northwest region of Spain (Castilla y Leon) and they have a few of the monasteries there with very gossipy hushhush (or not so) stories about nuns and monks and forbidden love. I spotted the rana (frog) in Salamanca, they say you’d finish your studies if you don’t hehehe (not into superstitions).
Anyways, you should have some of my Ilocano friends here in The Bay Area as they almost always serve “carioca” in all their parties ( I used to go for that and their kilawing kambing only hehehehe). You can hardly miss them here, they are everywhere. Very few of us pure Tagalogs here.
“drop a whole raw egg (without the shell)”… you are too funny. this soup sounds yummy. wel, anything with chorizo is yummy! ;)
Lex: thanks for Chorizo Bilbao info. Did not occur to me no such thing in Spain. I was in Bilbao, Spain many many years ago and I thought it was named after the city. Yes, they have too many chorizos there and I would say chorizo is their national sausage in Spain.
I have seen “chorizo bilbao” in the online catalog of purveyors of Spanish edibles here in Southern California and also mentioned as a popular Spanish cooking sausage (semi-cured and air-dried) attributed to the Basque city of Bilbao in some food webpages. Described as dry and made of lean pork and spiced with garlic and pimenton (paprika), this chorizo must be distinct enough to be listed along with other Spanish sausages such as Pamplona, soria, blanco, morcilla, etc. The description suggests qualities we would recognize in the “chorizo de bilbao” that we Filipinos fondly associate with the brand Marca El Rey and packed in lard in that green and gold can sold in years past. I guess this chorizo de bilbao is in a sense, a Filipino “invention” or an ingredient that has defined itself to be indispensable by Pinoy tradition or taste – no substitions permitted, in the best callos, pochero, paella. Perhaps, another example of our food culture co-opting such good stuff as ensaimada, turron, tamal from our colonial past.