Basque Garlic Soup Recipe for a Gently Spiced Bread and Egg

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

120 g baguette (sliced)

½ cup olive oil

10 cloves garlic (peeled and finely chopped)

2 tbsp paprika (Spanish & smoky)

6 cups chicken stock

2 tsp sea salt (to taste)

2 tbsp sherry vinegar

2 tsp sugar

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp chilli flakes

2 eggs (whisked)

Directions

Toast the baguette slices until brown, spread them out on a tray to cool, then break them into 3x3cm pieces to create croutons.

In a large pot over medium-high, heat a quarter of a metric cup of olive oil, then add the croutons, and work quickly, stirring continuously from the start so that the bottom croutons don’t soak up all the olive oil. If some pieces are still dry, add another splash of olive oil, and continue to stir the pieces for a few minutes until they’re brown. Reduce the heat to medium if needed so the croutons don’t burn; you want them golden brown, not black.

Transfer the croutons back to the tray and use a paper kitchen towel to wipe the pot clean of crumbs.

To the same pot, over medium, add the remaining olive oil, heat the oil, then add the finely chopped garlic and cook for a minute or so, stirring continuously until the garlic is golden, taking care not to burn it. Stir in the tablespoon of paprika, add the stock and salt, and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat to low so the soup can simmer, return the croutons to the pot, stirring them so they’re all submerged and start to soak up the flavours. Then add the sherry vinegar, sugar, chilli powder, and chilli flakes, stir thoroughly to combine, then leave to simmer for 20 minutes or so. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning and spices to suit your palate.

Just before you’re ready to serve, increase the heat to medium, stir the soup continuously in one direction, and slowly drizzle the whisked eggs into the pot so tendrils of egg form.

Ladle into bowls and serve immediately. You probably won’t need any more bread… although I quite like dunking toasted baguette slices brushed with extra virgin olive oil into my soup.

Nutrition

• Calories: 532 kcal
• Total Fat: 37 g
• Saturated Fat: 6 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 29 g
• Trans Fat: 0.01 g
• Cholesterol: 93 mg
• Sodium: 1962 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 35 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2 g
• Total Sugars: 10 g
• Protein: 16 g