Garlic soup is an old ally that has been part of the old Castilian diet since ancient times. It is a hearty, affordable and comforting dish, but above all it is delicious. With very simple ingredients such as bread, garlic and paprika, you can create an ideal first course.
Its origin is blurred in time due to its antiquity. Today, despite its strong presence in large parts of the country, Zamora has a strong link with this preparation. It is still in this province that garlic soup is eaten during Holy Week celebrations. A recipe that still fills the streets and squares of many villages with ancestral aromas.
Ingredients for garlic soup (4 people)
- 12 garlic cloves
- 150 g stale bread
- 100 g Serrano ham
- 2 spoonfuls of sweet paprika
- A little spicy paprika if desired
- 4 eggs
- 1.25 L of water
- 50 ml olive oil
- Salt
How to make garlic soup
- To start this delicious garlic soup, add the oil to the bottom of a saucepan. Peel and cut the garlic into thin slices and then add them to the oil over a medium heat, always making sure that the garlic does not brown too much.
- Once the garlic is very lightly browned, add all the paprika. Let it fry for a few seconds and then quickly add the water. As you know, if the paprika burns, it will make the whole dish bitter.
- Once the water has been added, turn the heat up to medium-high so that it starts to boil. Then add the ham and a good amount of salt. Leave to cook for 20 minutes so that all the flavours integrate well. Finally add the bread cut into slices of about 2 cm. Let the bread cook over a medium heat without letting the soup boil too much.
- Once the bread is cooked, correct the salt if necessary and reduce the heat to a minimum. Finally, add the cracked eggs to the same pan one by one and separately. It is important that the heat is kept low to prevent the eggs from breaking up and the egg yolk from being diluted in the soup.
- Once the eggs are well cooked after 10 minutes, just serve and enjoy! This is a perfect dish to enjoy as a starter, but it can also be a main course for dinner during the coldest days of winter.
