Passport & Plate - Soupa de Ajo
Spain | Monday, March 2, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons olive oil
4-5 large garlic bulbs, broken into cloves with skin kept on
6 whole Padron peppers, stems on
100g cooking chorizo, cut into little pieces
1-teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon sweet smoked Spanish paprika
1 litre good Chicken Stock
4 eggs, organic or free-range
8 slices ciabbata or sourdough, toasted and torn into rough pieces
sea salt and black pepper
How to prepare this recipeDirections:
Heat the oil in a saucepan over a low flame and add the garlic and Padron peppers. Gently fry together for 4 mins and remove the peppers. Add salt and pepper and set aside. Continue gently frying the garlic on low heat for 15 minutes, stirring often, until the skins are golden brown but not dark, and the flesh inside is soft. Remove with a slotted spoon. When slightly cool, squeeze out the sweet garlic flesh by hand (discarding the skins), mash into a puree and set aside. Meanwhile add the chorizo to the pan and fry for a few seconds, then the pureed garlic and Padron peppers. Stir well, add the paprika, thyme and finally pour on the chicken stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and check for seasoning. (This is my favorite part; it should be a rich broth with a sweet, smoky garlic taste, and a slight kick depending how the peppers are—it’s always a surprise with Padron peppers). Toast the bread. Two minutes before serving poach the eggs in the soup, and add the toasted bread. Once again, taste for missing flavors, add salt and pepper if necessary and serve immediately. The eggs should be white and creamy, yolk sealed in its pouch, soft and runny inside, not hard. The torn bread soaks up the soupy goodness and I often pick up the peppers by their stem and eat them whole.
The story behind this recipeSoup is transient. The recipes evolve and move from county to county, taking on different forms given the place it originated. You do not need to speak the same language to understand its gift—soup means friendship. It lifts a melancholy mood like a warm hug.
Soup de Ajo is a simple yet hearty and flavourful dish conjuring up the images of Spain and Morocco with its exotic spices, sandy sultans and hairy-chested matadors. I was born with the desire to cook, to explore new and exciting flavors and am equally fascinated by the people who prepare them.
I’ve travelled most of North America, the South Pacific, and Australia and lived in New Zealand for over 15 years; meeting people from around the world I’ve learned nothing is more connecting than food. I can quite literally think about food my entire day, and when travelling it’s this discovery of new dishes that helps best understand the people and their home. It was while living abroad that I stumbled upon Sopa de Ajo (Garlic Soup).
Despite regional variations of this classic Spanish soup, the main ingredients always stay the same garlic, eggs, bread and paprika. Do not be misled by what you might consider simple and unexciting, this noble soup can be difficult to master, especially poaching the eggs. The flavor-filled broth can be accented and varied in many ways; its intoxicating and magical smell brings people together.
It’s meant for sharing. I enjoy this soup with friends and on many occasions have tempted my neighbor for a visit with the smell wafting from the kitchen while preparing.
I collect recipes from the people I meet on scraps of paper scrawled out in an effort to once again capture the moment. Food should be balanced, and culturally true exploding with surprise in discovering that which is a little out of the ordinary. I collect these like many take photos and piece together an album; these recipes are the memories I treasure. Different and yet still fundamentally the same.
