Sopa de Ajo — Castilian Garlic Soup with Poached Egg

Ingredients

• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 oz stale country bread, torn into rough pieces
• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 4 eggs
• 3 oz Spanish chorizo, diced (optional)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1½ tsp sweet pimentón
• ½ tsp hot pimentón
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Warm the olive oil over medium-low and fry the garlic slices slowly until pale gold, 4 minutes. Pull the pan off the heat the moment they color — bitter garlic has nowhere to hide in a four-ingredient soup.
2. Add the chorizo if using, cook 2 minutes, then stir in both paprikas off the heat so they bloom in the warm oil without scorching.
3. Return to medium, add the torn bread, and toss until every piece is stained red and slicked with oil.
4. Pour in the stock, season, and simmer 12 minutes until the bread dissolves into a rough, spoon-coating porridge.
5. Crack the eggs onto the surface, cover, and cook 4 minutes until the whites are set and the yolks still run. Ladle into bowls, one egg each, and grind pepper over.