Sopa de ajo (Spanish garlic soup) recipe
From Love Soup: 160 All-New Vegetarian Recipes from the Author of The Vegetarian Epicure, you chose this sopa de ajo as the first recipe to try. Can you see the garlic oozing from my pores? No? Well, perhaps I slurped up every drop of this soup too quickly! The ingredients are humble -- some broth, a couple of cloves of garlic, stale bread, an egg -- but what happens when they're cooked together is magic, pure and simple. Be sure to slice the garlic rather than mince or put through a press; the garlic will be much sweeter when it's cooked. I made a single serving, in a small pot, using bread that was more than one day old; in fact, it was rock hard, and all I could do was break it into chunks (it looks strange in my photo, but worked perfectly in the soup; your neater slices or squares of day-old bread will look prettier). The author recommends not making more than two or three servings in one pan, and using a large spoon to scoop the individual poached eggs into each soup bowl. Each diner can break his or her own egg into the soup bowl, to bring all of the flavors together.
Sopa de ajo (Spanish garlic soup)
Ingredients
For each serving:
1 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp sweet (Hungarian) paprika
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (pimentón de la Vera), sweet or hot, to taste
2 cups vegetable broth, heated (I used a microwave for this)
A pinch of sea salt
1 oz day-old crusty bread, cubed, thinly sliced, or broken into chunks
1 large egg
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a small sauce pan. Sauté the sliced garlic over medium heat, for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, until it just starts to color. Remove from the heat and stir in the paprikas, then add the hot broth. Return the pot to the heat, cover, and simmer gently for 4-5 minutes. Taste the broth, and add the sea salt.
Add the dry bread and simmer for 2 minutes as the bread softens. In a small bowl, break an egg (try to keep the yolk intact). Slide the egg gently into the soup, and be sure it's fully submerged. If it isn't, carefully ladle some hot broth over it to cook the top. Simmer until the white of the egg is opaque but the yolk is still soft, about 3 minutes. Pour the soup into a soup bowl and serve at once.
Awesome first soup from Love Soup! Simple ingredients to fabulous results.. I might make the Green Soup with Ginger Soup this weekend but the Indonesian Yam and Peanut Soup is soooo tempting as well. :)
This is a soup that I've heard of many times but never tried and I think it sounds amazing. I love every ingredient!
This brings back memories of Santo Domingo and my first bowl of garlic soup. Still wonderful!
Janet, I'm tempted by so many recipes in that book. This one is just a starting point -- look for more in the future.
Kalyn, the soup is absolutely sweet, which you don't expect, and the poached egg makes it a bit creamy (without cream). It's a true marvel.
Pauline, now that's a story I'd love to hear some day.
This sounds so good! It will be my first soup in Albuquerque. Or my last one in Boston!
So soothing, satisfying and delicious. In less than 10 minutes. With basic ingredients on hand. Perfect.
Candy, either way, this will be a delicious soup that I know you'll enjoy.
CJ, the garlic in this soup mellow into sweetness, and it really is quick and easy. Enjoy!
I have to admit I have Hungarian paprika in my cupboard from visiting Budapest earlier in the year. This is wonderful and I am definitely going to make this!
Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe.