Garlic Soup or Sopa de Ajo: How to Make this Delicious Spanish Soup

Spanish cuisine has a lot to offer from paella, to sangria, and the delicious cheeses, but don’t sleep on the garlic soup! It is one of my favorite Spanish dishes, but don’t be scared, it’s not as aggressive as it sounds.

Garlic soup is like the peasant food of Spain because it uses that stale bread, lots of leftover garlic, and why not throw an egg in there! It’s similar to an Italian stracciatella or tortilla soup of Mexico. Many cultures have something like this using the leftover ingredients from the year’s harvest and becomes perfected and basically the go to comfort soup of a nation.

My version is anything but authentic. I have been to Spain twice but I have never had this soup in Spain. The first trip to Spain was a school trip and most meals were “catered” to our American palettes. I distinctly remember having Spaghettios more than once. The next trip to Spain was during the hot summer months and this soup was no longer on the menu, likely to return during the cooler winter months.

I had this soup for the first time at an excellent Spanish restaurant in Boston and then also during a recent trip to Mexico. So my version is a mixture between those two delicious versions. In other words, it is about as far away from authentic as possible! I also decided to make a grilled cheese for dipping as opposed to adding the bread directly to the soup in small chunks, so yeah – much different, but still delicious! Try it and let me know your thoughts!

Serves 4 as a main, 6 as a starter.

Tools:

A blender or an immersion blender and slotted spoon.

Suggestion Wine Pairing:

This is great with a white wine. Try an albarino to stick with the Spanish theme. Or make a white sangria!

Ingredients:

For the garlic soup:

10 gloves of confit garlic in oil

5 cloves of raw garlic, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1/2 cup of white wine.

1 piece of stale bread, cut up into 1 inch pieces. I think a piece of a sourdough baguette works well, but any stale bread should do the trick.

1 teaspoon of paprika

4 cups of chicken broth

4 eggs

Parsley for the pretty

For the grilled cheese:

8 pieces of bread of your choice. I used more sourdough.

3 tablespoons of butter

4 slices of provolone cheese

4 slices of swiss cheese

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

Instructions:

1. In a stock pot over medium heat, add the confit garlic and onion. Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is translucent and the confit garlic has basically dissolved.
2. Add the raw garlic, paprika, and the stale bread, Sprinkle the mixture with some salt and pepper and give it a good stir.
3. After 2-3 minutes add the chicken broth and white wine and stir to combine. Remove from heat and either transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree the soup.
4. Return the garlic soup to the stockpot and bring it to a boil. Reduce to simmer.
5. Meanwhile, start on your grilled cheese by making 4 sandwiches with the 1 slice of provolone and swiss on each. Sprinkle with oregano.
6. Heat a frying pan to medium heat and add the butter. Fry each sandwich until the bread is crispy on each side and the cheese is melted. Remove from heat.
7. Now it’s time to poach an egg in your garlic soup. Keep the soup simmering and stir it to get the liquid moving. Carefully, crack the eggs one by one into the soup. Reduce heat to low and cover for 1-2 minutes.
8. To serve, fill a bowl with 1 cup of the soup and carefully lower a poached egg in the middle, using a slotted spoon. Top with parsley and serve with a perfectly dippable grilled cheese on the side.