Castilian Garlic Soup

• 4 slices day-old country bread
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tbsp sweet smoked paprika (Pimentón de La Vera)
• 1 tsp hot paprika (optional)
• 4 eggs
• 1.2 liters chicken or vegetable broth
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt to taste

👨‍🍳 Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Heat the olive oil in a clay pot or wide casserole over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and fry gently until golden but not burnt.

2. 2

   Remove the pot from the heat. Add both paprikas and stir immediately for 30 seconds — the residual heat is enough.

3. 3

   Return to low heat, add the bread broken into pieces and stir so it absorbs the paprika oil.

4. 4

   Pour in the hot broth, season with salt, and simmer for 10 minutes until the bread softens and the soup thickens.

5. 5

   Create small wells in the surface and crack an egg into each one. Cover the pot and poach the eggs for 3-4 minutes until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny.

6. 6

   Serve immediately in the same clay pot.

💡 Chef's tip

The paprika must be added off the heat or with the flame off to prevent burning. The poached egg in the soup is non-negotiable.

📝 Our take

Castilian garlic soup is one of the most deceptive dishes in Spanish cooking: poverty ingredients that produce a result of remarkable depth. The secret is paprika added off the heat — if it burns, it makes the whole thing bitter — and the egg poached directly in the hot broth. Day-old bread, not sliced bread: the dense crumb absorbs without disintegrating.

🍷 Wine & food pairing

A young Ribera del Duero or a Cigales rosé. Wines from the Castilian plateau to accompany the dish from the same land.

Suggested wine: Ribera del Duero o Clarete castellano