Castilian garlic soup

• 200g day-old bread
• 6 sliced garlic cloves
• 1L beef or chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 4 eggs
• 100g serrano ham, diced (optional)
• extra-virgin olive oil
• salt

👨‍🍳 Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Sauté the sliced garlic in generous oil. When golden, add the ham and sauté for 1 minute.

2. 2

   Add the paprika and fry for 15 seconds (do not burn).

3. 3

   Stir in the sliced bread and the stock. Bring to a boil.

4. 4

   Poach the eggs directly in the soup (crack each egg into a ladle and slide it in).

5. 5

   Cover and cook for 3 minutes until the egg is set. Serve in an earthenware pot.

💡 Chef's tip

The paprika should be added off the heat or with the flame turned off to avoid burning. The poached egg in the soup is essential.

📝 Our take

Castilian garlic soup is one of the most deceptive dishes in Spanish cuisine: humble ingredients that yield an enormously deep result. The secret lies in the paprika added off the heat — if it burns, it makes the whole stew bitter — and the egg poached directly in the hot broth. Day‑old bread, not sliced sandwich bread: the dense crumb absorbs without falling apart.

🍷 Wine & food pairing

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

Suggested wine: Ribera del Duero or Castilian clarete