The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Sopa de ajo, aka a fabulous ending for stale bread

Urchina's picture
Urchina

Sopa de ajo, aka a fabulous ending for stale bread

While it's not a bread recipe, it's a great way to use up stale bread, especially heels. Very little prep time, very yummy results. Excellent for winter nights. It's a spanish-inspired bread and garlic soup, Sopa de Ajo!

 

For 4-6 people you will need:

8 cups vegetable or chicken broth

as many whole eggs as you have people

a 1/2 cup of stale, cubed bread (I use cubes about 1.5 inches on a side, including crust)

8 cloves garlic 

1 T paprika (smoked is nice if you can find it)

2 T olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

 

Peel and slice the garlic thinly. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in a stock pot or Dutch oven until the oil shimmers. Add the garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant, soft and just barely beginning to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add the paprika and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broth and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once the soup has reached a boil, turn it down to  a gentle simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Crack the eggs into the simmering broth -- you are going to poach them. Cook until the eggs have reached your desired level of done-ness (I like 'em hard, but that's not traditional -- really, I think poached softly is probably  more traditional). 

 

Divide the cubed stale bread between the bread bowls. Spoon a poached egg into each bowl, atop the bread cubes. Ladle the broth over the top and serve immediately. 

 

Makes a delicious, warming, comforting soup, and takes less than 15 minutes to prepare. 

 

Enjoy!

 

P.S. Mods, I know it's not strictly bread, but it's made with bread... please feel free to move to a more appropriate forum if one exists. thanks!

La masa's picture
La masa

Being a traditional recipe, there are many variants. A very common one involves frying the sliced bread after the garlic, before the paprika. Other recipes add cumin, or finely diced chorizo or ham.

The eggs are sometimes added intact, sometimes broken, sometimes omitted.

Use a good strong broth and serve very hot, and you'll have a great comforting soup for the winter.

 

Image taken from this thread.

SaraBClever's picture
SaraBClever

When I was in highschool I did a homestay in Spain and we had this all the time with the leftover bread.  It was delicious and I don't know why I don't make it more.  As you say, it is fabulous!