Spanish garlic soup with bread and eggs
Golden garlic, smoky paprika and toasted bread simmered in broth, with eggs poached right in the pot, a humble Spanish soup that tastes like a hug.
- 30 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 2
- About $2.82 a serving
- 500 calories
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Read the steps once before you start. Everything goes smoother after that.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 4 slices french bread, thick, a day old is best
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 large eggs
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp salt
Each serving has about 500 calories, 21 g protein, 31 g carbs and 32 g fat, and costs about $2.82 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No french bread? Sourdough bread works.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the garlic and cut the bread into 1-inch .
Thinly slice. Thinly slicing means cutting slices about an eighth of an inch thick, roughly two coins stacked. Thin slices cook in seconds and soften fast, which quick dishes need.
How you’ll know: A slice bends a little when you hold it by one edge, and slow, steady cuts beat fast ones.
Cube. Cubing means cutting food into chunky, even squares, usually three quarters of an inch to an inch. Same-size cubes cook at the same speed and brown on every side.
How you’ll know: Your pieces look like a handful of sugar cubes, a little bigger than diced, all close to the same size.
Heat the oil in a medium pot over low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes, until pale .
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Low heatTimer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Pale gold, not brown. Browned garlic turns the whole soup bitter.Add the bread cubes, turn the heat to medium and stir until they soak up the oil and toast a little, about 2 minutes.
Medium heatTimer: 2 min
Take the pot off the heat and stir in the smoked paprika for a few seconds.
Dolly’s tip: Off the heat, because paprika scorches in an instant.Pour in the broth and salt and over medium-high heat, then and 10 minutes, until the bread has into the soup.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium heatTimer: 10 min
Crack the eggs into the soup, spacing them out. Cover and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until the whites are completely set.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Low heatTimer: 4 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Keep it at a gentle bubble. A hard boil tears the eggs apart.Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Taste the broth and add salt if it needs it. Ladle into bowls, two eggs each, with parsley on top.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
