Today we are going to make a soup that is absolutely perfect for the season and that is inspired by similar soups made in Spain, Portugal and elsewhere.
It uses very basic ingredients that most people have lying around at any given time and is also an excellent way to not let stale bread go to waste.
While many recipes for this style of soup use chicken stock, I like to use beef stock as I like the flavour and find that it makes the soup more hearty. If you want to make this dish vegetarian you can use vegetable stock.
Ingredients:
Loaf or part of a loaf of stale rye / French / country style bread
10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
3 eggs lightly beaten
6 cups beef stock (or chicken or vegetable stock)
3 tbsp. paprika
1-3 teaspoons of cayenne pepper, depending on how spicy you want it. Traditionally this is a fairly spicy dish.
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste, though the dish benefits from the liberal use of both
chopped fresh parsley
To make this it is best to use a slightly stale loaf of rye, french or country style bread. First you want to lightly toast slices of the bread and then rip them apart into pieces.
Next heat up 1/2 a cup of olive oil in a large saucepan or pot. Be sure to use this much oil even though it is more than you will need to saute the garlic.
When the oil is hot add the 10 cloves of sliced and garlic and sauté for around 3-5 minutes.
Then add the bread, paprika, cayenne pepper and salt and pepper. Saute the seasoned bread in the oil (adding more olive oil if needed as it is absorbed) for around 5-8 minutes until the pieces are nicely browned. Then add the white wine and continue to saute until the wine is absorbed by the bread, around 2 minutes more.
After the wine is absorbed add the 6 cups of beef broth. Bring the broth to a boil and let boil for two minutes and then slowly add the beaten eggs stirring as you go. Let the broth with the eggs boil for two minutes more.
Serve topped with freshly chopped parsley as a garnish.
Great on a cold fall night.
(This recipe was originally posted on The Left Chapter blog in November 2017)