Spanish Garlic Soup

Jump to recipe

I first encountered this soup when I was a child, dining with my parents at a NYC restaurant called Mesa de España, and it was love at first bite. When I learned how easy it is to make, I was amazed.

Don’t be intimidated by the amount of garlic in the recipe. There’s no bite to the finished product, just a rich, mellow sweetness.

The croutons and poached egg make it a perfect light lunch when served with a salad, or a hearty first course for dinner.

Want a souper fun way to serve this soup? Use it the way I’ve done, as an amuse bouche.

I have a very pretty demitasse set that I got from my mother. I love finding ways to use things like this, that might otherwise end up as decorative pieces only. Here’s what I do:

When people first sit down at the table, there should be a demitasse cup at each place setting. On the table, have a sugar bowl filled with, not sugar cubes, but rather the croutons, which you’ve made in miniature.

Instantly, you’ve got everyone’s attention. They’re thinking, “She’s serving coffee? We haven’t had anything to eat yet!”

Without a word, take the sugar bowl around the table and drop one crouton into each cup.

Then, bring out a small bowl filled with raw quail eggs. (They’re so pretty!) Walk around the table, cracking one raw egg into each cup, on top of the crouton.

Curiouser and curiouser, as Alice would say.

Now bring out your fancy porcelain coffee pot filled with the soup. It’s critical that the soup is boiling when you pour it into the pot, and you must use it right away. Go around the table, pouring soup into each cup. The hot soup will instantly poach the egg, right in front of their eyes. Announce, “Spanish Garlic Soup!” Sit down, pick up your demitasse spoon, and enjoy. This set is similar to the one I have.

And here’s a variation: This week, I’m serving this soup as part of my menu for the Shabbat when we read Parasha Vayakhel. For this, I’m leaving out both the croutons and the egg, and replacing them with tiny, saffron infused matzo balls.

All this goes to demonstrate how you can have lots of fun by using your imagination and playing with your food.

Spanish garlic soup

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup good, fruity olive oil

• 6 whole heads garlic, separated into individual cloves and very thinly sliced

• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

• 9 cups chicken stock, no-chicken stock, or light colored vegetable stock

• a baguette, white or sourdough

• Optional: shaved parmesan cheese

Method:

• In a pot large enough to hold all the stock, warm oil and then add garlic and thyme.

• Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until garlic  is soft and translucent. Make sure it doesn’t brown.

• Add the stock and bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer the soup until it’s reduced by half. 

• Season to taste with salt and pepper.

While the soup is simmering, prepare the croutons:

• Preheat the oven to 400º.

• You’ve got two choices—it’s all about the presentation you’d prefer. You can thinly slice the baguette, brush each side with olive oil, toast in the preheated oven until golden on both sides. Or, cut the baguette into croutons, toss them in olive oil, spread them out on a baking sheet, and toast them in the preheated oven until golden. 

Keep the soup warm while you poach the eggs. If you’re using quail eggs in tiny cups or bowls, you can put them in raw—they’re small enough that they will cook when you pour the hot soup over them. For big bowls and chicken eggs, you’ll want to poach the eggs separately and then float them on top.

Think big: 1. soup 2. crouton(s) 3. chicken egg

Or think small: 1. crouton 2. quail egg 3. soup.

How to produce perfectly poached eggs:

You need:

• eggs

• a pot of water, gently boiling, with only a few bubbles breaking on the surface.

• ⅓ cup white vinegar

• a slotted spoon

It’s important to use very fresh eggs. That will keep the whites from spreading.

Note: If you aren’t using the egg immediately, have a bowl of ice water at the ready so that when you remove the egg from the pot you can plunge it into the ice bath to stop the cooking process. If you need to reheat the eggs before serving, carefully lower them back into the lightly boiling water for 30 seconds. (That’s general info—if you’re poaching eggs for this soup, you obviously won’t need to reheat them because they’re going into hot soup.)

• Add vinegar to a good sized pot of water, and heat the water to a gentle boil.

• Crack an egg into a small bowl.

• Use your spoon to stir the water round until you have a good vortex going. Gently tilt the dish with the egg so that the egg slips into the center of the vortex.

• Cook the egg until the white is fully set and the yolk is to your liking. (Bear in mind that it will cook further in the hot soup.)