Sopa de Ajo (Castilian Garlic and Paprika Soup)

Ingredients

• 150 g white bread, day-old, thinly sliced
• 10 garlic, thinly sliced
• 100 g chorizo, cut into small dice
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1¼ l chicken stock, hot
• 4 egg
• 2 bay leaf
• salt to taste
• black pepper to taste

Method

1. 1.

   Gently gild the garlic — Warm the olive oil in a heavy pot over low heat and add the sliced garlic. Cook slowly for about 5 minutes, stirring, until the slices turn pale gold and smell sweet — let them brown and the whole soup will taste bitter.

2. 2.

   Fry chorizo and bread — Add the diced chorizo and fry for 2 minutes until its red fat runs into the oil. Tear or slice in the bread and turn it over and over until every piece is coated and lightly toasted at the edges.

3. 3.

   Add paprika off the heat — Take the pot off the heat and stir in the smoked paprika so it dissolves into the warm fat without scorching — off the heat is non-negotiable, paprika burns in seconds. Pour in the hot stock and drop in the bay leaves.

4. 4.

   Simmer until thick — Bring back to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 20 minutes, breaking the bread up with the back of a spoon halfway through, until the soup is thick enough to hold a trail behind the spoon. Season with salt and black pepper and fish out the bay leaves.

5. 5.

   Poach the eggs on top — Lower the heat until the surface barely moves. Crack the eggs one at a time onto the soup, spaced well apart, cover the pot and poach for 3-4 minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks still completely liquid.

6. 6.

   Bring to the table — Ladle into four warm bowls, giving each one an egg, and eat straight away — the yolk is broken into the soup at the table.