SOPA DE AJO

It is January, and I will take 40 degrees over 10 degrees, but it is still cold and damp, the type of cold that soaks into your bones and chills you to the core. So there is only one answer for this, SOUP!

As Madam BadWolf, has forsworn all things born of wheat, I have a bit of bread that is slowly going stale, and there is a whole head of garlic that wishes for warm spring days so it may sprout; it seems like a garlic bread soup is in the making.

Thinking back to a dear friend and his wife (they did the theme for this website) and conversations had about Spanish food, I think SOPA DE AJO is in the making.

Take GOOD Olive oil, bless it with tons of garlic, then add a rich smokey pimentón de la Vera, stir to bloom the spice, then add our bread and toast lightly to get the Maillard reaction going, and finish with excellent hearty chicken stock to soak into our bread and break it down, add the finishing touch of eggs ribboned into the soup. (I’ll take this one step away from the classic Spanish soup and add a grated parmesan on top when I plate and serve.

From Wikipedia:

Garlic soup is a type of soup using garlic as a main ingredient. In Spanish cuisine, sopa de ajo (soup of garlic) is a traditional garlic soup made with bread and egg poached in chicken broth, and laced with garlic and sherry.

Garlic Bread Soup

The Spanish cure for a cold and miserable day

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Appetizer, Lunch, Main Course, PubGrub, Soup

Cuisine Spanish

Servings 4

Calories 517 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 10 – 12 Cloves Garlic Peeled, sliced wafer thin
• 4 oz Bread Sourdough, sliced wafer thin
• 1 tbsp Smoked Paprika Good Stuff, this is the heart of the soup
• 6 – 7 cups Chicken Stock
• 4 ea Eggs Jumbo, whisked
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil Good stuff please
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.
• Add the sliced garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes, occasionally stirring, until it is fragrant and lightly golden.
• Add the smoked paprika and stir to combine.
• Add the bread and toss until it is more or less evenly coated with the blessed oil.
• Continue cooking for three more minutes, frequently stirring, so the garlic does not burn. Looking for the bread to start to take color
• Add 6 cups chicken stock and stir to combine.
• Break up the bread with a spoon into your desired size of pieces as it cooks.
• Continue cooking until the soup reaches a rapid simmer.
• Stir the soup in a circular motion to create a slow whirlpool.
• Slowly pour the whisked eggs into the soup while stirring to create egg ribbons.
• Taste and season the soup with salt, black pepper, and/or additional smoked paprika as desired.

Notes

For the bread, I use plain bread, usually some that has gone stale. One could break the bread and toast it before adding it to that soup pot.   This will create extra flavor and texture.

One can forgo the egg ribbons, add a raw egg into the serving bowl, and poach it with the hot soup.

I have been known to add a jalapeno with garlic at the start for that extra spice kick.

One can use vegetable stock in place of chicken for a vegetarian version.

Nutrition

Calories: 517kcalCarbohydrates: 47gProtein: 23gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 1315mgPotassium: 927mgFiber: 1gSugar: 14gVitamin A: 892IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 76mgIron: 2mg

Keyword Soup, Sourdough

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