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Garlic Soup (Basque Sopa de Ajo)

basque-sopadeajoA balm for a cold day, the piping hot bowl of garlicky, smoky broth is filled with tendrils of eggs, thickened with bread, and heightened with a splash of sherry vinegar.

4 oz French baguette
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 head garlic, peeled and finely chopped (~ 12 cloves)
1 Tbsp. pimentón de la Vera (smoked Spanish paprika)
8 cups chicken broth
2 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
3 large eggs, beaten

Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C/210°C fan, Gas Mark 8).

Place baguette on a baking sheet and toast in a preheated oven until very browned and almost burnt, 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Break or slice bread into 2" pieces.

Heat 7 Tbsp. oil in a large pot over medium-high. Add bread pieces and reduce heat to medium. Cook, turning often to allow bread to toast and soak up oil, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove bread and set aside. Wipe the pot clean.

Add garlic and remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to pot. Cook over medium-high, stirring constantly, until garlic is golden brown, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in paprika. Add broth and salt; bring to a boil.

Add bread to pot. Reduce heat to medium-low and maintain a simmer. Add vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally to break up bread, until flavours meld, about 25 minutes. Taste and add more salt, if needed.

When ready to serve, bring soup to a simmer over medium-high. Stirring constantly, slowly pour beaten eggs into hot soup. If any large pieces of bread remain, cut them with kitchen scissors or break them apart with a spoon. Serve hot.

Makes 4 servings.

Cook's Notes:

  • Sopa de ajo's piquant broth is infused with an entire head of garlic and thickened with egg. Some recipes call for a poached egg to float in each bowl of soup, but beating the egg and stirring it into the hot soup infuses each bite with flavour; the delicate wisps of egg add a beautiful texture to the broth. With a short ingredient list, this seemingly simple soup is truly elevated by each addition.
  • Use your favourite sherry vinegar for a clear, acidic note that isn't ever harsh or bitter. A fruity, grassy olive oil will carry flavours of garlic into each spoonful. The quality of the paprika and bread make all the difference in this dish, so open a fresh canister of true pimentón de la Vera and use the best baguette you can find.
  • What kind of bread goes in Spanish garlic soup? In the Basque region, this soup traditionally uses a bread called zopako ogia that has a broad, dry crust and very little crumb, making it perfect for thickening soup. Our sopa recipe, from writer and cookbook author Marti Buckley, calls for a baguette that's very well-toasted - almost burnt - in olive oil to add body and roasted depth.
  • What is pimentón de la Vera? A key ingredient in sopa de ajo (and Spanish cuisine in general), pimentón de la Vera is smoked paprika from Spain's La Vera region. To make it, a variety of local peppers are smoke-dried with oak over the course of a couple weeks, then stone-ground into a powder. You'll need a generous Tbsp. for this recipe.
  • Make-Ahead: This soup comes together in under an hour and tastes even better the day after it's made. Prepare it through Step 4 up to two days in advance, then bring it to a simmer and add beaten eggs just before serving.
  • Suggested Pairing: Enjoy this soup with a lightly sparkling, apple-y Txakoli.