Via Serious Eats: Mario Batali's Garlic Soup.

It was a cold, dark, rainy spring day today; perfect weather for soup. And what a perfect soup we had: Mario Batali's Garlic Soup. This soup is easy, delicious, and fun to make and eat. The fun comes from adding a perfectly poached egg to the hot soup after it is poured into individual bowls. Poached egg on garlic soup? Wonderful!

Garlic Soup (Sopa de Ajo)

2 Tbs. olive oil
1/4 pound stale bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. Spanish smoked paprika
Salt
4 cups chicken stock
3 poached eggs (I follow the Betty Crocker method. See below).

Over medium-high heat, heat the olive oil in a sauce pan large enough to hold all of the remaining ingredients. Add the bread and cook for 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Cook until the bread is lightly browned. Add garlic, paprika, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Do not burn the garlic.

Add the stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes.

Poach the eggs.

Ladle some soup into a bowl and top with a poached egg.

I served this meal with a side of olive bread and a glass of white wine. Yum!

Poached Eggs as Betty Taught Us to Do.

Fill a sauce pan with 2 - 4 inches of water.
Bring water to a rolling boil
Reduce water to simmer
Crack an egg into a small bowl or coffee cup. Slide the egg into the simmering water. Repeat.
Cook for 4 minutes (Four minutes because this egg is being added to soup; I might cook these eggs for slightly less time if this was an egg-on-toast recipe).
Remove eggs with a slotted spoon and place onto a paper towel.
Add egg to soup bowl at the appropriate moment.


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