Garlic-Paprika Soup (Sopa Castiliana)
November 22, 2010
Looking around to use up some previously made mushroom broth for risotto, I modified slightly a deeply flavored garlic soup hailing from Spain - the warmth of the paprika and garlic melded with the egg and the mushroom broth was just the ticket for a cold, rainy night. This is an amazingly simple recipe that comes together very quickly. Beef broth is traditional.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 slices baguette or white bread
- 3-4 tbsp sweet paprika
- 2 pinches ground cumin
- 4 cups mushroom stock (beef stock is more traditional)
- 4 eggs
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp chopped parsley
Preparation
- Heat the olive oil in a soup kettle or large saucepan. Add the garlic and fry till golden brown. Reserve.
- Fry the bread pieces till they are golden brown. Reserve.
- Heat the oven to 450F and pre-heat 4 oven-safe soup bowls set on a cookie sheet for spills.
- Add a quarter of the paprika to the pan and fry till fragrant ( 15-20 seconds). Add the cumin, the mushroom stock and the rest of the paprika along with the garlic. Break up the garlic with a spoon.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-8 minutes. Season the soup.
- Remove the bowls from the oven, and distribute the soup into them. Break an egg into each bowl, top each with a piece of fried bread and return to the oven.
- Cook for about 3 minutes for a soft-poached egg, or 4 if you prefer it almost set.
- Remove and serve, topping with the chopped parsley.
Notes
- To make mushroom broth, I use about 2 oz of dried wild mushrooms ( porcini, shiitake, morels) which I soak for 20 minutes in warm chicken or vegetable broth. After soaking, I pass the broth through a coffee filter set over a sieve to filter out the grit, and use it. I reserve the re-hydrated mushrooms, which I wash, chop, and add back to whatever I am using the mushroom broth for.