🇪🇸 Spain · Andalusia
Sopa de picadilloAndalusian ham broth
A clear chicken and ham broth with fine noodles (or rice), chopped cured ham and hard-boiled egg, finished with a leaf of spearmint; the traditional opening dish of Andalusian Christmas meals.
Origin and history
Sopa de picadillo is a classic of Andalusian cooking, found especially in Almería and Seville, and the traditional first course of Christmas meals. Its name comes from the finely chopped ingredients. It is a clear chicken and ham broth, built on thrifty bones, with noodles, ham, egg and spearmint.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 6 servings
- Total time
- 6 h
- Hands-on
- 40 min
Ingredients
- 2 chicken carcasses, with some meat on them
- 2 chicken breasts or thighs, bone-in or boneless
- 1 ham bone (hueso de jamón), with some meat and a little fat on it
- 1 veal or beef knee bone, optional; adds body
- 2 carrots, peeled
- 2 leeks, split lengthwise and rinsed free of grit
- 3 litres3 quarts water, enough to cover generously
- 100 g3.5 oz fine noodles (fideo cabellín or fideos finos), or a small handful of rice
- 2 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and chopped
- fresh spearmint (hierbabuena), a leaf per bowl
- salt, to taste
- dry sherry (Jerez), a splash per bowl, optional
Method
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1. Put the carcasses, chicken pieces, ham bone, knee bone, carrots, and leeks in a tall stockpot and cover with the water.
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2. Bring to a boil and skim off the foam for the first 15 minutes.
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3. Reduce to a very gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour. Lift out the chicken pieces and ham bone when they are done and set them aside to cool.
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4. Strain the broth, cool it, and chill for at least 4 hours so the fat sets on top. Lift off the fat.
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5. Meanwhile, pull the meat from the chicken and the ham bone and chop it very small. Chop the eggs and keep them with the meat.
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6. Bring the degreased broth to a simmer, season with salt and add the noodles. Cook until they are just tender, about 3 minutes.
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7. Add the chopped ham, chicken and egg and heat through for a minute.
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8. Ladle into deep bowls, add a splash of sherry if you like, and float a mint leaf in each.
Notes
- Total time: 6 h including chilling.
- The name comes from the picadillo, the finely chopped bits (tropezones) of ham, chicken and egg that sit in the clear broth. It has nothing to do with the Cuban and Latin American minced-meat dish of the same name.
- It is the traditional first course of Andalusian Christmas Eve dinner, though it is cheap and simple enough for any day.
- Versions vary by province. Some use rice instead of noodles; some add carrot dice, potato or sweet potato; some serve the picadillo on the side so each person adds their own. The mint and a splash of sherry in the bowl are the traditional finishing touches.
- Make the broth a day ahead: chilling it is what lets you remove the fat and keep the soup clear.
- Substitute: if you cannot find a ham bone, simmer a few thick slices of serrano ham ends or a smoked ham hock; the broth will be a little smokier.
- A pressure cooker cuts the broth time to about 30 minutes.
Adapted from Sopa de picadillo tradicional andaluza, Directo al Paladar and Cómo hacer sopa de picadillo, Que.es.
At the festivals
Served at 1 festival in France.
Earlier editions
- January 25, 2025