Savoury dishes

Sopes mallorquines: the soup that isn't a soup

If you order sopes mallorquines expecting a bowl of soup, you are in for a surprise: what arrives is a compact braised dish in which thinly sliced country bread has absorbed all the liquid.

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Quick answer

Sopes mallorquines are a rustic braised dish of cabbage, leek, peppers, fennel and garlic, served over wafer-thin slices of brown country bread (pa moreno). The bread soaks up the liquid, so the dish arrives at the table compact rather than runny.

Why the dish isn't a soup

Here the Catalan term sopes refers not to the broth but to the thin slices of bread themselves. They are layered in a shallow pan or an earthenware pot, the braised vegetables go on top together with their stock, and after a few minutes the liquid has been completely absorbed.

So what you are served is not something to eat with a spoon, but a dense, filling mass eaten with a fork. If you prefer a runnier consistency, you can ask for extra stock in many cellers.

Ingredients and preparation

The base is made of winter vegetables such as white cabbage, leek, fennel, green pepper, onion, garlic and tomato, slowly braised in olive oil. Depending on the season and the household, artichokes, peas, beans or mushrooms are added.

Pa moreno is an unsalted, dark country bread that is sold sliced wafer-thin and dried especially for this dish. In its basic form the dish is entirely plant-based; some kitchens add bacon or sobrassada.

Season and where to eat them

Sopes are a winter dish: the ingredients come from the cold season, and the filling consistency suits the months between November and March. Even so, many cellers inland serve them all year round.

The classic places to eat them are traditional cellers, for example in Inca, where they are often served as a starter before meat dishes.

Practical tips

Dry sopes bread is sold packaged at weekly markets and in village bakeries – a souvenir that keeps.
If you are vegetarian, ask first: some kitchens braise it with bacon or sobrassada.
Order it as a starter and share it – the dish is more filling than it looks.
In winter, more fresh local ingredients go into the pot than in high summer.

Good to know

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Product knowledge

The specialities on this topic

Dish Traditional Central Mallorca / Inca